#DECK NINE DO YOU HEAR ME DO YOU FUCKING HEAR ME DECK NINE

[snailvibes]

THE CAT ISNT MAX’S

[the-soliloquies-of-sadists]

This is a direct follow up to Story #387, Story #389, and Story #394. It is strongly advised that you read those stories first.

#400

“There he is!  Timothy Stone, get on up here!...  Welcome aboard!  Welcome to the Zelus.  I see you are impressed with my tiny tugboat.  Ha! Ha!  I love looking at reactions of new passengers.  You ever been on a yacht this big?

“It’s sixty-nine feet, and enough power to get us around the entire Bahamas and back here to West Palm Beach.  It has four staterooms and two crew quarters.  You get one of them.  Sorry, with the entire executive team here each of us will get our own stateroom. 

“Let me text Lloyd to take us out of the marina.  All of us have been here for some time.  No, don’t worry about it.  I told you to be here at three, and it’s five ‘til three.  No, we’ve been having fun with our new faggot we got tied up….

“You want a drink?...  I have this cognac that I was given in Vegas the other day by a potential client.  I haven’t tried it yet.

“Ahh we are moving.  We should be out of the marina in a few minutes.

“Here you go….  Cheers!  …Ahhh!  Smooth.  I’m not a fan of cognac, but this is pretty good.  It should be.  Courvoisier Mizunara is supposed to be one of the best out there.  On the shelves it’s worth $2,500.  But shit, I couldn’t tell that from a $100 bottle.  Bourbon is more my thing. 

“Growing up in Tennessee, my Uncle Jimmy used to make his own.  Everyone in a five-mile radius of his home had a bottle of his bourbon.  I used to help him out in his garage in the evening when his son went off to college.  Uncle Jimmy showed me everything, but we always wound-up drinking.  I was sixteen at the time.  I’d plow his ass at the end of the night.  After a few times, he didn’t even wait until we started drinking.  He had one of the best pieces of ass I ever had.

“His bourbon lives on with my cousin once my uncle passed.  I have a bottle of it here.  I may break it out sometime during this trip.  My cousin fucked it up when he went ran the company.  It’s definitely not as good as it was before.  Some boys just don’t have a mind for business.

“Speaking of boys in business, your son Michael is doing great.  From what Lloyd was telling me, he’s really taking to his new role as intern.  I know he finds it a challenge, but Lloyd, Ben, and Gary think he’s handling it better than anyone they have seen in a long time.  Apparently, he has a gift for adapting, kinda rolling with the punches.

“What I like about him—I met him this morning—is his ability to take directions without complaints.  That is such a difficult characteristic to find in boys these days.  Lloyd and Gary were indicating they want to keep him around after his initial internship.  I left him earlier working hard trying to impress me.

“…Oh you hear that cabin tone?  That’s Lloyd telling everyone that we’ve cleared the marina and are out at sea.  This is your first time on the Zelus.  When we are in open water, we strip naked.  All of us.

“I told you the other day when we were talking about promoting you to lead our European expansion, that we are a close group of men—of four gay men.  We share our conquests, our lusts, our dark needs with each other.  I trust these men like I would trust my brother, if not more.  We have been in countless gang bangs tearing up some faggot’s cunt.  I have seen their cocks and asses so much that it’s awkward to see them clothed.  The other two on board are faggots.  Naturally those two are going to be kept naked.

“So strip.  This is not an option.  You can jump overboard and swim back to shore if you would like.

“Good.

“You can leave them on the couch.  Ben’s boy will put them in your cabin.  If you go out on deck you can keep your sunglasses and baseball cap on.

“You have got to realize that the four of us have known each other for years.  Lloyd and I go back to our time in the Corps.  What connects us is our love for using and abusing faggots. 

“Right now, as I was saying there are two faggots on board.  One is Ben’s boy.  While Ben has taken him on as a partner of sorts, he’s still a faggot at heart.

“…I guess I should ask, do you know the difference between a gay man and a faggot?  A faggot is a gay man who has a need, an urge, a longing to submit to the whims of superior men.  The more humiliating, degrading, cruel the better.  Faggots live for the cum of its superiors.  It loves to degrade itself in order for the man to be elevated.  It needs the beatings, the piss, the bondage, the punishment to feel complete.

“I don’t know why you were hesitating about stripping.  You have a great body, average sized dick, nice long foreskin, and holy shit… Those balls are huge!  Let me hold on to them….

“Hey don’t hesitate.  We are all physical with each other as well.  Look, I’m standing here in front of you naked.  I already saw you check out my dick.  Yes, it’s very fat.  If you want to touch it, go right ahead.

“You know, as a man who says he bisexual, you certainly seem apprehensive….  Or is it the fact that I’m your boss telling you to take a hold of my cock.  I get it.  If you are going to be a part of this team, you are going to have to drop those pretenses.  When you walk around you should let those low hangers swing free and guide your every step.

“Let me check out your ass.  Hey, what can I say?  I’m an ass man.  I’m going to see it anyways, might as well be now.

“Solid and meaty, just as I would have guessed.  Nice and hairy.  Faggots seem to love licking a hairy crack.  You ever have your ass eaten out?...  There may be some ass eating ahead.

“Speaking of which, right now that faggot is down below.  It is tied down, blindfolded with a noise cancelling headset on, ass up.  The four of us have already bred it.  You will be up next.

“Your cock doesn’t seem like it wants to get hard….  Do you need something?  We have Viagra, Cialis, Levitra, Muse, Tri-mix.  Well, I need a shot of Tri-Mix.  After this morning’s big load, I don’t think I could get hard again until tomorrow.

“You ever do Tri-Mix?  I use it when I want to fuck for a long time.  It keeps me boned up for a few hours.  You want to try it?  After a few minutes have passed you will be rock, and I mean rock hard.

“If you are nervous, this being your first time with me on the Zelus, just do it.  Let me get it.  It’s kept cold.  Don’t worry, I have a doctor that gives me whatever I want.

“Just stand right there.  Don’t worry.  I’ve done this many times.  Yes it’s an injectable.  And it’s injected into the shaft.  Aww, don’t turn into a pussy on me.

“I brought two syringes.  Let me do it to myself.  Here watch….  It goes in, I plunge, and it comes out.  Like that.  It’s over quick.  Now a few tugs and I can already feel it working.  I’m not going to get completely rigid for about 15-20 minutes.

“Look, you say you are bisexual, but I’m thinking that you are making up the gay side of it because you want to impress us.  You want this promotion so fucking bad you are willing to fuck some faggot in front of us.  You wouldn’t be the first straight man to shoot up his cock to fuck fags.  There’s a whole term for it: gay-for-pay.

“You want to be part of this team, you are going to need to learn to love using faggots, that includes dumping a load into them.  To do that you need to get hard.  This injection will do that for you.

“Here feel my cock again.  Grab a hold of it….  Feel that?  It’s harder than a few minutes ago.  Here let me inject you.

“Come here.  Just look up.  On the count of three.  One!  See, it went in….  And now you are done.  Give it a few tugs and you will start to feel it.

“You’ll be hard for the rest of the night.  Lots of fucking in your future tonight. 

“When we had our conversation in Vegas, I told you that I was pissed off at your skimming the profits but was very intrigued at the process you used to do so.  It took some serious creativity to pull that off.  I was impressed.  The guys too.  We set this cruise out to a remote island in the Bahamas to get to know you—to get to know you as a fag fucker.  Besides, the shit we do… man, we wouldn’t take on anyone who had a shred of decency.

“Do you feel your cock getting larger?  I can see it growing.  Yeah, once we go downstairs into the media room that doubles as a dungeon, you will see the faggot cunt secured to the sling or fuck bench.  Your cock will slide into its cunt.  And it should be silky smooth.  Better than any woman’s pussy.

“We have been training this faggot for a couple of weeks.  Lloyd secured him about the time when you and I went to Vegas.  He was an easy target.  What you probably don’t realize being essentially straight is that there are faggots out there that will do just about anything to serve men like us—brutal men like us.  Lloyd has a good talent for reading a potential faggot.  He says things that just seems to work on getting that faggot to be collared.

“Once that happens then it’s only a matter of time that they submit to whatever we want to do to them.  And all it took was this.  See this little fob?  This is the tool we use.  Here, press the number one button.

“Do it again.  And again.  What you did, is you sent a shock to the faggot down below.  The collar we put on him is wired up, like a collar for a dog to get it to stop barking.  Once they feel that, total submission is almost immediate.  With this particular faggot, he turned into a whipping post for Ben and toilet paper for Gary in no time. 

“Where we keep the faggot is wired up for numerous cameras.  So we can see what the faggot is doing and send a shock from anywhere in the world.  I even sent one from Vegas when you were looking up some number from some report.

“Look at your cock.  It’s starting to get rigid.  Damn!  You are a grower! 

“You know, let’s go see the faggot.  The guys will be down there.  We are certainly far from shore so Lloyd will have the autopilot on.

“This way….  Doesn’t it feel right to be walking around buck naked?  Trust me you’ll get used to it, and soon enough you’ll be naked pretty much all the time.  If you need to piss and you don’t have a faggot nearby, just aim off the side and go.  The one thing you’ll learn is pissing with a hard-on will take some time, which is great for loading up a faggot’s toilet cunt.

“And here we are.  Before we go in, I want to point out that you can see the men are enjoying themselves.  In general, we casually use faggots’ holes.  It’s about pleasure and not so much about busting a nut, although busting a nut happens a lot.

“Look at how the men are enjoying what’s going on.  Ben is balls deep in his boy, while the boy is tongue fucking Gary’s shitter.  Lloyd is pile driving the faggot over on the fuck bench, stirring up the cum stew. 

“This is the life we created.  This is what you are coming into.  Let’s go in.

“Gentlemen!  I got Timothy here.  His cock has been shot up and he’s ready to fuck.

“Damn Tim!  You really are a grower.  I should have expected that when I saw your long foreskin.  Now only the tip shows.  Skin it back; I want to see how big your head is.

“Shit!  Do you ever clean that thing?  Look at that dick cheese….  Come here.  Stick your dickhead in the faggot’s mouth.  He’ll clean you off. 

“The faggot is blindfolded and has noise canceling headset under his hood.  He won’t know what to do until you use the handle on his hood to pull his head back.  Then just shove your dick in his mouth.  The faggot knows to clean off dick cheese; I’m sure Gary made sure of that. 

“There you go….  I see that smile.  Feels good, doesn’t it?  Better than any woman.  A well-trained faggot is better than anything a woman can do. 

“Well you got Gary and Ben to stop and watch you.

“Oh you see his welts.  Yeah, a well-trained faggot also takes a beating.  We punish faggot slaves appropriately, but they also are made to understand that sometimes the beatings are for our enjoyment.  Ben and Lloyd certainly like to have their fun.

“This faggot has been trained to do so much.  He’s going to fetch us a good price.  Yeah, we plan on selling him.  There are men around the world that pay top dollar for a well-trained faggot slave.

“Pull out.  I said pull out.  I told you that you will enjoy this.

“Lloyd, move the faggot to the sling.  I think Tim here is ready to fuck.

“While he’s doing that, care for another drink?  Or would you like a cigar?  No?  Ok.

“Boy.  Go upstairs and pour Tim here a glass of the Courvoisier Mizunara cognac.  The bottle should be sitting out.  Hell, bring the whole bottle down.

“That’ll help you adapt and sink into everything to come.  So have you ever been to a gang bang, or fucked a woman who has several loads in her?  The feeling on your cock is amazing.  Yes it’s sloppy, but it also feels silky smooth.

“That’s a sight, isn’t it?  That cunt has been trained to take cock after cock and still remain tight to give pleasure and loose enough to not cause your dick to struggle to fuck.

“Here’s your cognac.  Might as well down it.

“Now go on.  Step up.  Slide it in.  Trust me, this is going to be a fuck you will never forget. 

“…Good.  You ready? 

“There you go!  There’s the smile.  Now FUCK!

“Give that faggot what he deserves.  Slam into him.  Faggots were made to be fucked not made love to.

“Hell yes!  Look, we are all stroking our dicks for you.  You have no idea how hot this is….

“Guys, gather around.  You should see this up close.

“…Go for it!  Don’t hold back.  Breed the faggot. 

“FUCK YEAH!  FUCK!

“…You did it!  In record time!  Well done!  Don’t pull out yet.  Let the rest of your body calm down first.  Savor the feeling.  Savor the moment. 

“You did good.  Now, I need for you to pull out slowly.  The faggot is trained to clamp down.  Good.  Good!

“Look at that slime on your cock.  That’s all our juices.  How do you feel?  I know.  Words elude you?... Ha!

“Get on your knees….  You heard me.  I want you to look at this faggot’s cunt. 

“Gary, pull apart the fag’s cheeks.  Let’s really see that cunt hole.

“On your knees….  There you go.

“Ben.  Lloyd.  Now.

“…They move fast, don’t they?  You have the same shock collar on you as the faggot does.  Now pay attention.  This is a level one zap. 

“…Hurts like a motherfucker, right?  There are ten settings, and you had the weakest.  I don’t think another demonstration is needed.  Do you understand your situation?

“…Shut up.  I don’t want to hear your babble.  That was a ‘Yes Sir’/’No Sir’ question…. 

“OK.  You really thought you could skim money from us and be rewarded with a promotion?  Please!  You need some sort of punishment.  That begins with your lips kissing the faggot’s cunt lips.  Go on!  Lean in. 

“…That was level two….  There you go! 

“Now keep your mouth open.  The faggot may be wearing a noise cancelling headset, but we can speak to him.  He’s going to be told to shit some of his cunt slop into your mouth.  Do not swallow it.  Nod if you understand.  Good.

“Whew!  That was a messy fart!  Remember don’t swallow.  Now pull back.  Look up at us.  Show us the load.  Now gargle it.  Like mouthwash! 

“Two minutes ago, you were a man, but now you are a gargler of cum gobs.  Now don’t swallow.  Stop gargling.

“Get up and go share that in the faggot’s mouth.  Get up….  You know I hate having to repeat myself.  If I have to do it again, you will experience level three.  Now go and have a deep passionate kiss with the faggot.

“Hold his head and swap spit.  Pretend he’s a woman.  Hell, pretend it’s your son Michael’s mother.  I don’t care.

“Fuck yeah!  I didn’t realize that you are an excellent kisser.  Pull off.  There will be more kissing.  Get back to kneeling at the faggot’s cunt. 

“You are going to repeat the process exactly the same, except for the gargling.  You can skip that.  Any hesitation will be met with level three for triple the length.  You understand.  Just nod.

“Good.  Oh, I forgot to tell you one thing.  You need to hear it before you go back to eating another splatter fart out of your son’s ass….

“…Oh yeah!  The faggot here is your son Michael.  This is the internship we set him up with.  Oh yeah.  Your son was a faggot before us.  It was easy for us to pluck him.

“Now, remember level 3.  You are to do the exact same thing with the same level of passion.... I'm fucking serious.  Go!

“…Damn!  That was close.  A split second longer in hesitating and you would have been shocked.  Keep licking.  While you wait to receive your gift from your son’s cunt, Lloyd here is removing your son’s hood.  He still has his blindfold and headset on.  We will be removing those shortly.  You probably won’t recognize him initially because Ben had removed all this body hair even on his head.

“Did you hear that?  Gary just busted a nut watching you felch out our loads from your son’s cunt.

“Pull off when your mouth is full.  Good.  Now go French kiss your son. 

“Just like before.  Go on now….  Fuck yeah!

“This is so hot.

“Now go back to his cunt.  But this time remain standing.

“Stick  your slime covered cock back into your boy’s cunt.  And fuck him.  That Tri-mix I injected you with should keep you hard for a long time.  You’ve already fucked a load into him.  Now just fuck.

“You really should see yourself.  Oh wait, you can.  Look over at that TV.  Yes, we have been filming you.  See your face.  There’s panic, fear, guilt, regret, and even a little disgust.  All the good emotions.  And over on the TV to your right, you can see how your son became a faggot with each of us.  Oh yeah, he wasn’t coerced into being a faggot like you were.  No, he was totally into sperm burping and pole riding.  The fear you had that he might be gay turned out to be true in the most glorious way.

“DO NOT STOP FUCKING.

“And now, we get to see shame you have in him and in yourself, by taking the headset off first. 

“Faggot, it is imperative that you do not say a word.  If either you or the shithead fucking you say one word, you both will get shocked at level 3.  This includes screaming.  I want both of you to nod that you understand.

“Good.  Now Tim, remove the blindfold. 

“Look into your son’s eyes.  Let him see just how much your fuck up has cost him.  All this is because you had arrogance and ambition.  You tried to fuck us over, you tried to steal from us, and you believed that we would be ok with it and promote you as well?  Fuck that!

“Are you crying?  You are!...  Do not stop fucking your son.

“Faggots!  That was level 3.  Yes!  The both of you got shocked.  That’s how punishments will be going forward.  One fucks up, then both gets shocked.

“Now get back to fucking your son.

“Here’s the situation.  We still have about four hours to go.  And you have a hard on that will last another three to six.  You will be fucking him non-stop until we get to where we are going.  Until then, you will not say one word to each other.  Remember those shock collars we have padlocked on you were meant for barking dogs.  If you say one thing, the sensors will register sounds and you two will be shocked.  Also, that sling has a sensor that will monitor for movement.  If that movement stops or even slows down—say due to stopping fucking—you two will be shocked.  Tim, if your collar should go more than 6 feet away from your faggot son’s collar, you two will be shocked.  If any one of us bring up one of our video feeds and see that your cock is not inside your faggot son’s cunt, you two will be shocked.  I will free the faggot’s hands.  I want the two of you to enjoy playing with each other’s chest.  What can I say?  I’m a nice guy.

“That’s a lot of fucking between the two of you between now and when we reach the island.  But here’s one thing before we leave you both to go have dinner.  That island is a small private island, about two to three acres.  There’s a small dock and a metal shed to shield from the elements.  The owner of the island always has a box stocked with water bottles and something to eat.  Last time we sold a faggot there, they put in a hammock between two of the four trees on the island.

“Faggot, you will be left on the dock.  The island owners will send carriers to pick you up either tomorrow or the next day.  From there, they will arrange delivery to your new owners.

“Until then you are free to roam the small island.  Swim.  Whatever.  If you want to swim to the next island, it’s about 7 miles in open ocean, and that island is about ten times larger, but still uninhabited.

“So that’s the life your dad has caused you to have.  Look at him.  He’s a failure, and he knows it. 

“Well Tim.  While you cry, keep fucking your son.  This will be the last few hours with him.  What do you have to say?  Oh, let me turn off your noise sensor….

“…No we can’t simply forget all this.  You stole a lot of money from us, it needs to be paid.  We paid a lot in fuel to get us out here.  We paid for a pick up on the island.  They expect a faggot.  Now, if you want to switch places with your son, that can be arranged.

“You want to do that?  You want to be sold into sex slavery instead of your faggot son?...

“…Well fuck!  I wasn’t expecting that!  You didn’t waste any time in shaking your head no.

“Faggot, did you see how fast your dad just gave you up?  Shit! 

“These past weeks have been carefully planned.  Every word, every detail.  From the Vegas trip where we had our talk, to Lloyd convincing faggot here to sign up to be our intern, to the strip club dancer I paid to have sex with you so that a potential buyer could see you in action, to the tri-mix dose on hand, to the video feeds cued up, and to me handing the shock remote to dear old dad to get him to shock his son three times.  The one thing I was expecting you to do was the fatherly thing and offer to go instead of your son.

“Nope.  You chose to sacrifice your son.  Didn’t even think twice.  That’s fucking brutal.  Just when I think you can’t be more of a piece of shit, you surprise me.

“No YOU are going to be sold, not your faggot son.  Your new owner saw you fuck that stripper, and he wanted you.  He’s into hairy middle-aged straight men as his sex slaves.  He doesn’t want your hairless faggot son.

“So you are going to be sold.  But I wonder.  Hmm.  I’m going to contact your new owner and see if he’s interested in the pair of you two as a set.  Yeah, that is a great idea, to sell your son into slavery as well.  If you had just offered yourself up instead of your son, he would have been spared.  But no. 

“If you have anything to say, save it.  I just put your noise sensor back on.  Get back to fucking your son.

“Gentlemen let’s go have some dinner.  Ben, I see your boy is gone.  To start cooking I presume.  You are one step ahead, as always.  Let’s leave these two have some private time.  They have lots to talk about, too bad they can’t say anything.  Lloyd, I know you have been eying that cognac.  Go ahead and grab it.  It’s yours for all the hard work you put in.  Actually, you all did good.  I’m proud of you all.  That was fun.”

[whatsjulietslastname]

Okay so this is me talking about everything that is wrong with Double Exposure because my first post about it was an angry reaction at the pricefield breaking up news and it wasn’t really diving into it. Obviously don’t read this if you haven’t played the game and do not want to get spoiled. Also, this is going to be long.

First of all, what I really want to speak about and what a lot of people are refusing to accept is how painfully out of character Max is throughout the whole game. “Yeah but she’s ten years older—” Don’t care. That doesn’t mean her entire personality has to change. I’ll say it over and over again, 2014 Max Caulfield would have absolutely despised her adult version. The thing that bugs me the most about 2024 Max Caulfield is how careless she is with her powers. She’s not asking herself where they came from, she doesn’t even freak out, or actually care. In the first game, right after she first rewinds, she constantly has to remind herself that she isn’t dreaming, and that this is real. In this game, she just accepts it, and goes on with her day, and uses her powers for the most useless reasons possible. What about the Max from her nightmare who represents the guilt she felt for using her powers wrong and putting all of those people in danger, you say? Absolutely forgotten. Max uses her powers so she can find items easier and so the people who rejected her in her main timeline want her in the other one. (Yes, after Chloe breaks up with her and expresses her worries about the fact that Max — apparently — uses her powers so things go her way — which is already incredibly out of character, because no, 2014 Max wouldn’t have used her powers on Chloe to avoid conflict, especially after what happened.) That is incredibly manipulative and shitty. SHE WOULDN’T FUCKING SAY THAT. And also, why on Earth would she try and use her powers to avoid her friend’s death when she KNOWS where this is leading. Did she not learn anything from the past? Apparently, she didn’t! And proceeded to completely forget about it all.

Something else that is incredibly annoying and gets tiring after like ten minutes is the amount of awkward sex-related jokes that Max (and every character, somehow) keeps making at any given moment. Pretty sure this was supposed to show us that Max is an adult now and that she hangs out with adults and knows what sex is but that is way too much. Nobody talks like that in real life (and if I ever meet someone who does I’m leaving the conversation). Max also makes cringey jokes all the time, because her dialogue (and hers only, which makes it sound even weirder) is the same as the 2014 one, except it was 2014 back then and it was acceptable. Now, if Max Caulfield says ‘let’s trash, shakabrah’, you’re only making it obvious how much fan-service you filled this game with. It would be funny if she said it to Chloe, because then it would have sounded like an inside joke, except she says it to her new lame love interest who has no idea what she’s talking about, and just. Why. Why would she, Deck Nine. The main problem about the fact that those jokes are thrown at us all the time is that Max’s inner dialogue is almost only focused on them. Something traumatic happens to her? Who cares. She’s gotta make a joke about the rock you pick up and then bring to another universe’s lame love interest who’s gonna reject her anyway and say ‘I’ll never apologize for my dad jokes’ because apparently, we’re never seeing the end of the fan-service in this game.

Chloe is out of character too the only few times we hear of her, but that’s only because Deck Nine makes it obvious how much they despise her. She leaves Max through a very underwhelming letter, which is already out of character enough. She then proceeds to never reach out for years (which is something Max has done to her and that has hurt her, so why the fuck would she do the same thing right after?) And apparently, she doesn’t care. She just moves on, and parties, and kind of starts flirting with Max’s high school bully, and makes cringey posts on the Internet that make her sound like an extremely corny player. That isn’t Chloe Price. That’s someone Chloe Price would make fun of, at most. I kept picturing 2014 Chloe reading the things her adult self apparently posts on social media and freeze in terror. Genuinely. Also, the whole ‘Joyce is dead and Chloe is angry at Max for it’. Sigh. Chloe gave Max the choice. She said ‘you’re the only one who can (make this choice)’. And then, when Max choses her, in front of her, and lets the town get blown away, Chloe says ‘I’ll always be with you’. Why the sudden switch up? Never explained. Chloe is just angry at Max for something she originally wasn’t angry at her for.

The writing in this game is super weak, too. There are a few cool scenes (I’m thinking the one where Safi tells Max to pulls the trigger in the middle of the storm, if you manage to make it past how boringly similar to LiS 1 it feels), but it’s mostly just…meh, at most. For instance, Safi asks Max about Chloe, we learn that Chloe and Max broke up, or that Chloe died, and then without giving us any time to process that, the game forces us to friendzone or flirt with some random girl that is apparently into Max. We don’t have any time to decide if we like her or not, you just take a look at her and decide if Max wants her. The dialogues are more often than not awful too. It sounds like something ChatGPT would write. Nearly every single interaction Max can have with basically anyone feels forced, and like people talk too much, or not enough, people say random thing that makes no sense and nobody cares, we suddenly hear Max’s thoughts in a middle of a conversation, there are awkward moments of silence. Painful to witness. Max has NO chemistry with either of her love interests (though the guy is somehow more interesting than the girl to interact with), and manages to have more romantic moments with her best friend who she’s not supposed to be into than with them. Both those love interests are useless and suck anyway, because they will both end up rejecting Max by the end anyway, and apparently won’t even return, which strikes the question of why the romantic plot lines were even involved. (Which also made me hate Amanda a lot. I guess she is somewhat likable at the beginning of the game, but she gradually becomes annoyingly pushy and ends up telling Max she’s too much to deal with at the end of the game anyway). Also, it’s annoying how obvious it is that the romantic plot line is way more explored with Amanda than it is with Vihn. Stop making Max look like she’s basically a lesbian but not completely because she hooks up with guys sometimes. Stop bisexual erasure, basically.

The game gives up on its own plot in the middle of it. It was promoted as a murder mystery but stop being one after a while to become a What The Hell Is Going On With Safi kind of thing. Also, there’s the whole thing with the detective. Why did they even create him only to treat him as a joke and never explain what happened with him. One of the most confusing thing about this game. What the hell was that for.

The nightmare sequence. God, how I hate it. If you want to deal with Max’s trauma, do it WELL. It’s a go big or go home thing, not a ‘let’s put some sort of references but never properly deal with anything’. IT WAS SO FRUSTRATING. There’s references about Chloe everywhere, and never Chloe. I get it, you don’t want her to be in this game. But if you do want to talk about Max’s trauma, you gotta swallow your pride and put her somewhere anyway. Max can’t have a nightmare about the things that traumatized her without Chloe being there. It just makes it even more obvious how much the studio avoided to put her in the game on purpose. The bathroom scene? God, please, what the fuck was that. Why would Max think of herself as some kind of Nathan Prescott parallel?? The only thing they had in common was pointing a gun at someone. That’s it. That was another poor attempt of the game to try and not put Chloe there but still say ‘look!! Max still thinks about her and is traumatized!! But she somehow dreams about it without seeing her face once!!’ like just stop. And the Dark Room part felt very underwhelming too. Kudos to Hannah Telle for the amazing voice acting on this, but the scene lasted ten seconds. Just don’t put it there, please.

The nightmare isn’t needed in every LiS game. So isn’t the Storm. So aren’t the nosebleed. Why does Diamond get nosebleed because of her powers? That was a Max thing. Daniel didn’t get nosebleed, Alex didn’t get nosebleed, Chris didn’t get nosebleed. (Rachel didn’t get nosebleed either). Why is this suddenly something everybody get because of their powers?? And why do every powers suddenly create Storms. It’s not a common Powers Problem, it was a Rewind Powers thing. God, this makes me mad.

And last but not least. The final choice. It felt so??? Underwhelming??? I use this word a lot, but it’s how the whole game feels for me. The LiS choices are hard to pick. There’s no morally wrong or right answer. It depends on who you are, what you stand for. The first game was about learning how to let go or refuse to let your friend get ruined by fate. The second game was about giving your life up for your brother to have a chance or refusing to give up on what you believe in and what makes you who you are, no matter what. Before the Storm was about protecting your loved ones from the truth or refusing to lie to them and let them hurt. True Colors was about forgive the unforgivable in the name of compassion or hold a grudge in the name of family.

And then there’s this game. ‘Do you wanna join the X-men me and my team of supervillains and take over the world lol’. Why would Max say yes to that. Just why. If you want to play the game in character, it’s obvious that you have to pick ‘refuse’. If you want to play an out of character evil Max just for the sake of it because it’s fun, alright! I don’t blame you. It’s fun. But why on Earth would Max Caulfield agree.

Also, they take you for an idiot with the cat content. Do NOT waste your money on it, you will regret it.

Anyway. This game would’ve been okay if it hadn’t been apart of the LiS franchise, and if it had starred a different main character. I still would’ve thought it was confusing and generally not great, but at least it wouldn’t have felt like such a let down. (Side note: everything I’ve said doesn’t include Moses and Gwen. I want to put them in my pocket and carry them around with me forever. Love them a lot.)

And congratulations if you’ve read this far. I probably would’ve gone ‘I ain’t reading allat’ and scrolled

[wtftarot]

PAC: The World

We've come full circle and it's about fuckin time, right? Time for the end. The World is harmony and the end of a cycle. She is that moment when you remember that you are the universe, you are One with everything and you feel it in your bones. It is recognizing your place as a human on this planet. The World is an ending, the inevitable conclusion but he is also the herald of a new beginning. What do they want to tell you? Let's fuck around and find out

As always this reading is for entertainment purposes ONLY and is not a substitute for professional advice in any capacity. Remember, use common sense and don't be a dumbass.

Four groups today, you can pick The Bird (eagle?), The Lion, The Person, or The Bull and head on to your reading.

The Bird/Eagle

The Nine of Cups and The Nine of Wands on the bottom of the deck.

This is fuckin gorgeous for y'all. The cycle that's ending for y'all is one where y'all had to fight tooth and nail for everything you wanted. I'm seeing the end of the Lord of the Rings, where the eagles fly Frodo and Sam out of Mordor after they destroy the Ring. I don't remember if Frodo actually says it, but I'm hearing him say "It's done". Y'all have been dealing with a rough ass cycle, huh? For it to show up as the One Ring? There may be one last battle of sorts? Like a boss battle. This is my nerd group (affectionate), I'm getting a lot of fantasy imagery. Think of it as one last challenge so you can truly close this cycle once and for all. For some of y'all, this cycle has been a long and very internal one. Something that's been weighing you down, that you're finally letting fall from your shoulders. What I'm seeing is that this 'boss battle" is a choice of sorts. You've been growing and figuring your way out of this cycle and all at once you're faced with a choice. This cycle has been more internal and you may have not seen much externally about it. It's like this choice embodies the cycle externally and you have a physical/material choice to make. Continue this cycle? Or Step forward with growth? And it will be that clear to you. Again with the imagery, I'm seeing a game screen with a choice. This path is unknown, keep going? Press X: Keep going. Press Y: Turn Around. Listen, I'm not much of a gamer like at all, so I don't know if that's a thing that happens in games? The last game I played was like three years ago?? So, the fact I keep getting gaming imagery means I'm really tapped into some of y'all's guides. Ok, the guide that's doing a lot of this is practically screaming in my ear to yell at y'all TO PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR DREAMS. FOR FUCKS SAKE. If you're into gaming and have been playing a game that's set in the woods, that message goes double. Don't ask me, I just work here. Now the cycle y'all are stepping into? Fucking beautiful, ok? Y'all are gonna be getting a lot of shit you have been wishing and crossing your fingers for. I'm hearing/seeing "yes, those too" and imagery of a belt and other accessories? This group is loud and I love it. Yea, even the "little things" you've wanted that aren't high on the priority list will be coming your way soon. And y'all are going to be rightfully smug about it. I think some of the blessings coming your way were things that people around you have tried to dismiss or downplay or talk you out of, so yeah you can be a lil bit smug about it. You've earned it. The past lil bit for y'all has probably felt very stale and stagnant but now that it's closing, things are going to be moving and improving. It may jolt y'all a bit at first. Cause this energy is so fucking different from where you've been, that even just dipping your toes in it will be a shock. It will be a welcome shock though, refreshing. The way this will manifest will be different for all y'all, but one thing's for sure, y'all are gonna fuckin run with it. After that initial choice, falling into this new chapter will be the easiest thing in the world.

random ass vibes: video games, d&d, 999, leaning into a new clothing style, fish, moon cycles, someone have a moon tattoo? birthday cake, HAPPY BIRTHDAY?

The Lion

The Moon and The Tower on the bottom of the deck.

Ok, you need to take a break. Full stop. Even if it's just ten minutes of sitting in nothing and silence. Your brain needs a rest from everything. I feel like y'all need to be told that yes, this thing does need to end. The cycle you're in may have become your comfort zone and you feel safe repeating it cause you know what to expect. It does have to end though. Y'all may have some idea that this ending is coming but you don't know just how much things will change when it does. This may be about a belief about the world or yourself that's really holding you back. Once clarity comes, you won't fit in the same places, with the same groups you used to. I don't blame you for resisting this, it can be terrifying to start questioning belief systems or old worldviews. Some of y'all may be questioning the religion or politics you were brought up in. It could be an understanding of who you are vs who others want you to be. Y'all are feeling a bit overwhelmed and confused as to what all this means. Sweetie, that's okay. This IS confusing and overwhelming. It is hard and scary and can leave you feeling very vulnerable. Babe, you need to stop pushing yourselves to have all the answers already. This one takes time and it's okay to let it. That's probably why the message I got for y'all before I even pulled the cards was for y'all to take a break. Not only that, but you don't have to tell anyone about this. Yes, if you can find some safe support through these periods of life do it, but you don't owe anyone what you're going through. Y'all are putting soo much pressure on yourselves to know everything already, to have all the answers. To know every aspect of who you are and what you believe. Wanna know something terrifyingly liberating? You never will. You will never know every single aspect of yourself cause you're always growing and changing. Same with your beliefs, you're always learning new things about how the world works, so your beliefs will always be shifting, even slightly. This is all coming from The World card cause y'all, more than anything need to let yourselves just BE. Be in the moment, stop interrogating them as if all the answers will be found there. The answers you're seeking will come in time and letting yourself live. I know the world we live in pretty much demands you have everything figured out at all times but that's bullshit. It's okay to change your mind.

random ass vibes: small-town vibes, doves or white birds, 919, the goth kid at the family reunion, lightning, trees, dragons, red clothes. nature vs nurture.

The Person

The Sun and The Hermit Rx on the bottom of the deck

Y'all it's time to come out of hiding. You've been hiding your truth for a WHILE. lol I'm hearing that lil Sunday school song: "Don't hide your light under a bushel, NO!" ( I grew up in the bible-belt, don't judge). That's a song for little kids if y'all don't know it, you don't have to look it up. It's telling me though that y'all have been hiding your light, so to speak, since you were a little, little kid. Like four-ish years old. Now, I don't know y'all's situation, it may not be safe for y'all to be fully yourself, and cause it seems like y'all have been hiding your whole damn life that's probably the case. So, BE FUCKING SAFE, okay? Because you're at this reading though, there are probably some ways you're hiding yourself that you don't have to. It's like y'all have just been letting people decide who you are when you're around them? Y'all are wearing other's projections of you like masks. I'm hearing "too much". Ooh boy, y'all listen, this group feels like I'm talking to my younger self. I cannot tell y'all the number of times I was told I was "too much", too loud, too quiet, too stubborn, too whatever. Unless y'all are being too cruel, too bigoted or whatever, y'all have a place here okay? Y'all seem to have taken being told you're too X, or not Y enough to heart and have whittled yourself down piece by piece cause that's what the people around you want. Y'all are like the fucking sun and everyone is demanding you be a candle. I think it's people you care about telling you this too. And because you care about them, you want them to be happy and comfortable. So, of course, you can be a little smaller, whatever they need, right? Now though, you've been doing this so long, you've lost yourself a bit, haven't you? The World is telling you it's time to call those parts of yourself back. Dig up those parts of yourself that you've buried. You can start as small as you feel you need to. It may be hard and confusing at first but soon it will be as natural as breathing. If you're not even sure where to start or have forgotten those parts, ask your guides and the universe for help. Ask for signs and to be put in situations that bring out those buried parts of you. You may have outgrown some of them and that's okay. Just prepare yourself, it won't be easy. Ya know that tingling feeling when your leg has been asleep and it's waking up? I feel that even though my leg has been fine this whole time. So it will probably be uncomfortable too. You should probably expect some hard reactions from the people around you too, especially if they've only known you as the you you've pretended to be for them. But that home you've been looking for? Felt calling? That can only be built by you being your authentic self. Otherwise, it'll just be another place where you have to wear a mask to be welcome. I wish I could end this one on a lighter note for y'all. This isn't an easy one. Take some alone time and please, take care of yourself through this. Whether you realize it or not, you are working through something really difficult and need to go easy on yourself through this.

random ass vibes: Halloween, candy, ghosts, 11:11, turtles, alligators, Frankenstein's monster, Venus, halos or angels?

The Bull

The Page of Pentacles and the Eight of Swords with the Empress on the back of the deck.

Y'all have so much fuckin potential, okay? Y'all are doubting yourselves so fuckin hard and The Universe and your Guides are sick of it. We all know someone who's amazingly talented but is so fuckin hard on themselves about it, to the point where you just want to grab em by the shoulders and shake them screaming YOU ARE WONDERFUL AND TALENTED. That's how your guides are feeling about you, all the damn time. I'm serious. I was only taking One card and the bottom of the deck for each group but the Eight of Swords came out too for y'all. Y'all are stuck in your head, questioning your every goddamn move and wondering why you're exhausted and never seem to move forward. This reading's tone is much more direct, like fed up snap the fuck out of its energy. Not that your guides are fed up with you, just fed up with your self-doubting bullshit. I'm hearing "..but they'll think I'm x" So, you may feel like if you truly lean into your potential and fail, people will have shit to say. Sweetie, they will and they will if you succeed and they will if you never do jack-shit. One of the few guarantees in life is that people will talk shit no matter what you do. The only control you have is why they're talking shit. Would you rather them talk shit about you cause you went after what you want, win or lose? Or because you never went after what you wanted, which is exactly what they wanted. The cycle that needs to end for you is one you have to end. End the cycle of shitting on yourself just cause you may not be where you want to be. End the doubt of your own capabilities. You really have NO CLUE how fucking amazing your life will get the second you start questioning those shitty thoughts. Like just questioning them, not even fully disbelieving them yet. Just questioning them will do fuckin wonders for you. If you're a beginner let yourself BE a beginner. If you want to try something new but are afraid of being a beginner then say fuck it and fuck you to those thoughts and start anyway. Hell, you don't have to tell anyone you're starting at first. You have the potential to be a whole-ass fuckin meadow and are doubting and even criticizing yourself for having to start as a handful of seeds. This is you're pep talk, in case you haven't figured that out yet. One other thing, some of y'all may be fearing the work that'll come with believing yourself, that it'll be tiring and all that. It's gonna be the opposite, sweetie. I mean, yeah it'll be work. But it's gonna be energizing. Do you know how much energy you've been hemorrhaging by shoving down allllllll that potential constantly? All of that will be freed up in a second and spent on fun shit. I believe in ya, babe.

Random ass vibes: thrifting, rainbows, makeup, cinnamon, puppets, purple, birds, card games, heart tattoos.

[starryknight-tarot]

18+ 𝓣𝓱𝓮𝓲𝓻 𝓯𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓪𝓼𝓲𝓮𝓼 𝓪𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾

pile 1 -- > pile 2

pile 3 -- > pile 4 my masterlist<3 . paid readings

Hi beautiful souls!✨ I am back with my first +18 reading which means if you are younger than 18 please do not interact with this reading as it is not for you. I will be looking into your person's fantasies about you. This could be a crush, partner, future spouse, fwb, whatever you have in mind. Remember to meditate, take a deep breath and pick whatever pile calls to you the most. Make sure to take what resonates and leave what doesn't. Lastly, I would like to thank you for all your love and support on my readings. It means a lot ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა

Pile 1

Cards: Four of Cups, Page of Wands rx, Two of Wands, The Emperor, The Tower, Nine of Cups, Ace of Cups rx, The Fool rx Back of the deck: Two of Cups

Pile 1, your person has to restrain themselves from you. I am getting that your person has been crushing on your for a very long time but they feel too nervous to approach you with a love offering. I keep hearing this could be your best friend or a close friend but this may not be for everyone. But your person has A LOT of unattended feelings towards you that is getting harder and harder (wink wonk) to hold back. This person has a lot of passion towards you and really wants to rip your clothes off I keep hearing. If you let them, they would show you a good time. For some reason your person feels scared to really tell you how they feel cause they are afraid you are gonna reject them. But I feel like they may distance themselves because they can't control themselves around you. They may get an erection or wet when they are around you. They want to make sure your pleasure comes first. This person likes to give head. This person wants to be the best fuck you've ever had. I keep hearing they wanna kiss you all over your body, so this person definitely is into body worshiping. I heard they wanna show you how beautiful you are (aw). This might come through with gentle words in your ear as they wreak you. If you are into roles, your person seems like either soft dom or a service sub, making sure you're ok and they would have AMAZING aftercare. I am getting pretty vanilla vibes but it would be very passionate sex with a lot of emotion and love. I am hearing they would pour all their love for you in bed. Your person would love to see you in lingerie, especially lighter colors. They may want to fuck with the lingerie on. I am getting that your person may get jealous if anyone else were to see you like that so they would wanna keep things in the bedroom or around the house if nobody else was home, I'm hearing specially the washing machine. But they would make the room super comfortable with candles, dim lights, and rose petals on fancy occasions. Ok listen this may sound spooky but they wanna watch you sleep, I don't think in a creepy way, I think in a very loving way like would just be so happy to have you. Your person really wants to take action on this connection but they are a little too anxious and in their head to take action. You will probably be the one to move this relationship forward.

Advice Cards:

Expect good things to come to you Issues of balance are at hand You are moving beyond your old form. Congratulations! Keep the faith. Stay intentioned. Your perseverance will pay off. Take good care of yourself, especially your heart. Put your tasks and goals in order

Channeled Songs:

Pile 2 Cards: Six of Swords, Death, Five of Wands rx, Three of Pentacles rx, Knight of Cups rx, Temperance, Ace of Swords, Page of Pentacles Back of the deck: The Magician

I feel like by just making eye contact with this person, you can bring them to their knees. Your person could be your ex but I am hearing more of a past fling or maybe just an old crush of yours that you might not have seen for a while. very specific lol. This person regrets not asking you out or waiting too long to make a move. They want to make up for lost time. In the bedroom (͠≖ ͜ʖ͠≖). They have a lot of confidence that they can make you feel really good. They wanna make you orgasm multiple times. If they have a dick, they have a big dick or like the perfect dick for you. If not I am hearing they may have large labia or a big strap on. This person wants to try every position with you but I am getting that they prefer cowgirl and doggy cause they wanna see your body. Your whole body is a huge turn on for them. Your person wants to whisper things like "Nobody else can make you feel this good" and "You're all mine". Very possessive energy but I'm not getting in a toxic way. They may be a little jealous of someone around you Pile 2. Your person wants to try all the toys with you. They imagine coming home with a bag of toys and trying all of them to see which ones make you feel the best. I also heard they are into punishments, they really like handcuffs specifically. But I think they also really like to give you praise when you do good, I am hearing "You are doing so well baby". I feel like you may think this person sleeps around and has a lot of experience but they either have a lot less than you have imagined or are a virgin. I feel like we are getting pretty dominant energy but I think this person is more of a switch and would love for you to take control of them. I heard mark them all over their body to show people they belong to you. They would love that so much. Your person has very kinky energy but they may also like sex passionate, slow and sensual. A lot of eye contact and hand holding. Your person may not like to have a one night stand or a friends with benefits relationship. I am getting that they would only make these moves if you were together. This pile seems to be the most fun and less serious when it comes to sex.

Advice Cards: You need to make the first move It is important to ask for help This challenge is intended to promote your growth Deep, deep down, something needs attention Seek to understand from a place of connection rather than separation Have a closer look at your family situation

Channeled Songs:

Pile 3 Cards: Two of Wands, Two of Swords rx, Justice rx, Seven of Swords rx, Knight of Pentacles rx, The Hermit, Ten of Pentacles, Ace of Pentacles, The Emperor Back of the deck: Three of Wands

Your person has a lot of emotions for you Pile 3. I am getting this could be someone you had a falling out with or had a big fight with. Although I am getting that this fight will end almost as quickly as it started. But your person wants to keep up the energy. This fight has got your person all hot and bothered and now they wanna let it out. They are very into makeup sex, they may feel like makeup sex is slightly better than regular sex. I am hearing "I won't leave a single part of your body untouched" and "You won't be able to move when I am done with you". All piles have been pretty dominate but I think your person has been the most dominate out of all the piles. Your person wants to go all night Pile 3. They want the neighbours to know who you belong to. They like to have very rough sex, multiple rounds. They wanna grab you everywhere. Your person like foreplay a lot less than the act itself. Your person is really into receiving head, pulling your hair while they contain moans but fail. I am getting your person is very vocal in bed. Your person may like both of you getting off by yourself while they tell you want to do. This could be a long distance relationship. For some of you they may like to watch as you get fucked by someone else, telling both of you want to do. Your person may like to choke you (safely) while they ruin you. They want to claim you, they may have a breeding kink. They imagine coming inside of you and making you hold it inside while you go out. "If you can hold it all, you will reward you when we get home". If you are a woman, they want to see you pregnant. That really turns them on. I feel like they would be really rough and aggressive in bed but if you use a safe word or show any discomfort, they will turn dom mode off and immediately take care of you. Consent and safe sex are really important to them. I am hearing that sex with them is something to gossip about. That would really fuel their ego. I feel like people may not expect that from them. They make look skinny or weak but is actually super muscular. They could also be shorter in height. I feel like your person's dirty secret is that they want you to overpower them and degrade them. Advice Cards:

Keep your faith. Stay intentioned. Your perseverance will pay off You are intuitively gifted. Trust your guidance You have more power than you think Align body, mind, and spirit. Know that you are whole You are divinely protected. Remind yourself how safe you are Make your presence felt

Channeled Songs:

Pile 4 Cards: Queen of Pentacles rx, Seven of Cups, Four of Swords, Four of Wands rx, The Hierophant, Four of Cups, Three of Wands Back of the deck: King of Cups

I think you were your person's sexual awakening Pile 4. They also could have been raised in a very religious household that looked down on sex and discouraged them to learn about anything sexual. Before they met you, they may have thought they were asexual or that they won't be able to find anyone but as soon as they found you something awaken in them. They were flooded with millions of emotions. You are the first person that ever made them feel these kinds of feelings. Now they want to catch up on what they missed with you. They want to try everything with you and see what makes both of you feel the best. Your person may want you to guide them through sex and teach them how to please you. Sex to your person seems very sacred and special, only with someone they completely trust and feel a connection with. I feel like your person would be into tantric sex, connecting with you on a spiritual level. I am hearing for some of you this person is your soulmate or twin flame. Your person imagines you screaming their name as they please you. It turns them on so much when you praise them and tell them that they are doing good. I really feel like your person wants to be dominate and please you but always end up crumbling under your touch. I am getting that you could easily make your person cum in their pants with just a few touches. They imagine you teasing them for how flustered they get and punishing them. They want to go all night, no breaks, they can't get enough. They have missed out on this for so long they want to make up for it. Your person may be really shy normally but is a total freak in bed. They are begging and pleading for you to touch them but you refuse them to mess with them. But when you finally give in, it's so passionate and hot oof. Your person wants to pour their heart out for you. It's always the quiet ones I heard lol. I also just heard step on me. I am seeing they want you to wear all leather and spank them. My goodness lol. They also imagine pleasing you while you sleep and waking you up with sex (consensually ofc). Your person craves your attention and touch.

Advice Cards:

Something you've planted is coming to harvest. Results are forthcoming! Be aware of your inner messages It is time to unclutter your body, mind, and spirit The issue at hand is about reflection. What is the mirror showing you? Relax and feel good. You deserve more joy! It is time to take appropriate action

Channeled Songs:

Thanks for tuning in₊‧.°.⋆🫧•˚₊‧⋆.

[archangeldyke-all]

I know Sevika has her way with cards in a gambling sense but how about being a tarot card reader. It’s a shady business ofc but she’s just genuinely super good at reading people and bulshitting her way into people’s heads. She’d definitely pull the lovers card to get reader to go out with them. Oh and she’s HELLA charming, instead of scamming reader to buy some shit she’s “scamming” reader into going on a date with her.

this is SO cutelas;djf;laskdjf

men and minors dni

the markets of zaun are a wild place. whether you need a mercenary, exotic fruit, poisonous animals, or supernatural powers: you can find it all in the filthy, crowded, markets.

sevika learned at a young age that the key to surviving zaun was all about marketability. nobody in the under-city gives a fuck if someone;s fat or skinny, but they'd take interest in hearing that someone'd make a good bouncer or could fit in the tight spaces in the mine shafts.

nobody's going to pay an artist to paint-- but they might pay them to tattoo their skull or draw a caricature of them.

sevika's always known she's good at reading people: she just never knew how she could sell that to someone.

and then she discovered tarot cards.

within a month of her getting her first deck, she'd made enough money scamming people to buy her own storefront in the markets.

and now, she's running an incredibly lucrative business.

despite the fact that her store is decorated with various silky fabrics and crystal columns, despite the astrology posters on the walls and the candles and insence always burning: sevika uses no psychic powers in her readings.

it's mostly bullshit. occasionally, the 'official meanings' of the cards will line up with what she says, but she mostly just says what she knows her customers want to hear. (and sometimes what they need to hear.)

it's easy. the customer comes in, sevika takes one hard, good look at them, and nine times out of ten, she's able to figure out what they're hoping to hear.

then, once she gets them talking and gets the details out-- she's able to bullshit some pretty accurate guesses about their lives, just to convince them they're in the presence of a 'true psychic.'

some people need encouragement-- to quit their jobs or to ask someone out. some people need a 'sign'-- that their deceased love one is protecting them, that things will be okay. some people just want an answer, stuck on a pointless question and unable to move on until they get closure. sevika's happy to supply. especially for how much they're paying her.

you work at the exotic pet store a few shops down from sevika's.

you're the only one who can see through her bullshit.

she's in love with you.

each day, around one in the afternoon, she takes a smoke break at the little table in front of her shop, waiting for you to walk by on your way to lunch.

each time, you smile at her, roll your eyes, and ask, "scammed anymore innocent believers today sev?"

"made three hundred bucks since we opened." she boasts. "want me to take you to dinner with the earnings?" she asks. you laugh and flip her off, continuing your walk.

sometimes she'll come visit you when her days are slow. if you're not busy, she'll 'give you a reading' at the counter of the shop, whispering so neither of you alert your manager that you're not working.

she has to shuffle and organize them before she comes in, because each and every time she's 'giving you a reading' she pulls the lovers, and grins at you. "looks like you've got a blossoming love interest." she says. you snort and roll your eyes.

"oh, do i? pull another, tell me what they're like."

sevika grins, pulling three more cards. "oh. i'm seeing here that she's... tall... strong... hmm... definitely rich..." she says. you snort, and sevika peeks one eye open at you. "half ponytail... her name starts with an 's' sound... ssssarah?" she tries. "no... that's not right..." she blinks at you for help, and you burst into laughter.

"get out of here, my manager's gonna be back from lunch soon." you say. sevika blows a kiss at you on her way out.

you can't deny that she's charming. you understand why so many gullible customers trust her with their lives. you watch her walk back toward her shop through the window, biting your lip as you watch her ass sway.

she finally asks you out after a few months of you guys flirting.

all day, you have people coming into your shop, finding you, and handing you flowers. each time you ask them why, they shrug, simply saying that their psychic told them to give flowers to the 'closest beautiful woman' they could find.

most of them assume that you're going to fall in love with them the second they hand you the bundle of flowers-- not knowing that their psychic is using them and their desperation for love to secondhand hit on you. you just thank them, smiling sweetly before letting them down gently, encouraging them to try the next girl they see.

you're exhausted by the end of the night, and about ready to strangle sevika.

but as you leave you bump into her. at the sight of her, all your frustrations from the annoying little prank she pulled melt away.

she's in a fancy suit, her hair neatly combed behind her ears, her eyes nervous-- darting around and never quite meeting your eye. she holds no tarot cards, only a single red rose that she thrusts into your chest the second she sees you.

you stare sweetly down at the rose, sighing softly before speaking. "you're so fucking annoying." you say, warmly. sevika chuckles nervously.

"do you want to go on a date with me?" she asks. you smirk, looking up from the rose to admire her.

"well, i should probably ask my tarot reader-- i trust her with my life." you say. sevika grins, reaches behind her, then pulls the lovers card from somewhere behind her back. you burst into laughter.

"the cards say yes." she says. you roll your eyes, reaching out to smack her shoulder, melting a bit at the sweet smile she shoots you. "...so?" she asks.

"fine." you say, giggling. "i guess i can't go against the cards, huh?" you ask.

sevika just grins, swooping in to kiss you.

taglist!

@fyeahnix @sapphicsgirl @half-of-a-gay @ellabslut @thesevi0lentdelights @sexysapphicshopowner @shimtarofstupidity @love-sugarr @chuucanchuucan @222danielaa @badbye666 @femme-historian @lia-winther @gr0ssz0mbi3 @ellsss @sevikaspillowprincess @leomatsuzaki @emiliabby @sevikasbeloved @hellorai

[axtivaqe]

Life is strange Double Exposure is NOT canon

So its been getting around that Chloe isn't gonna be in Lis DE and I have never been more devastated in my life. Deck nine said they were going to respect the 2 decisions that players could've made, yet they practically said "fuck you" and took Chloe out of the picture. I just don't understand why though, like 50% of the fanbase picked sacrifice Arcadia bay and it was mainly because we are huge pricefield shippers (idk about y'all but I am). And their not stupid, they know about the pricefield ship and how much people wanted to see Chloe and Max in another game. They literally said they were going to follow through with the original games and the 2 decisions at the end, but then they completely scrap the idea of Chloe and Max being together, and they didn't even want to tell us. People had been asking about Chloes role in DE since the game first got announced, so why would they leave our questions unanswered for so long? It makes no sense on their behalf and its js overall bad marketing, They made it out that Chloe left Max because she didn't want to do long distance, but thats not Chloe at all. Chloe is the girl who dedicated her WHOLE journal to letters for/to Max in before the storm, Chloe is the girl who wrote "and she probably has all new friends up in fucking Seattle, i still miss her. if she came back tomorrow and said "hey Chloe, want to dress up like pirates and be stupid together?" i would take her back in a heartbeat." after she hadn't seen or spoken to her for 3 years, Chloe is the girl who told max that they would last forever and that she would never leave her. They completely mischaracterised her and made the whole sacrifice Arcadia bay option pointless, they spent 10 years together and Chloe throws it away because she cant do temporary long distance? Thats not like her at all. I see people saying "its realistic though, a relationship built from trauma isn't healthy" and it really annoys me, like yes their right, but thats in the real world, its a game about a girl who can jump between realities which isn't realistic at all. And don't even get me started on the rumour about Chloe flirting with VICTORIA.

But the game still isn't out yet, I mean we only have the first 2 episodes and I'm not sure if all of this is confirmed (if it is how do we know when we only have the 2 episodes?) or if people are just taking the 2 episodes and their story line, and then putting the pieces together. I was having a convo with someone in the comments under a yt video by Cucu on Games about how Chloe will be in DE (the video was made 3 weeks ago before all this info came out) and we both thought that maybe Chloe will come back into max's life in one of the last episodes, maybe she misses Max and hears about what happened with her friend Safi and comes to see her and reconnect with her, because surely Deck nine, a huge game company who know what their fanbase wants, wouldn't use false advertising by making us think Chloe is gonna be in the game only to scrap that idea after saying they wanted to respect and follow the two choices players could have made.

Its a really controversial opinion and I've seen a few people say it makes sense and its part of Max's character development, but Id say most of the fanbase isn't happy about this whole thing. I mean of course I'm happy to be able to see Max in another game, and we're lucky to even be getting another lis game. But to make us think we're going to see Chloe and then let us find out that we aren't is just bad marketing. If they never intended to have Chloe in the game then why wouldn't they answer everyones question, 'Is Chloe going to make a physical appearance?' (they would've 100% seen people asking because their social media pages are flooded with the one question about Chloe) Lmk what you think tho, and if you made it all the way through this then thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this long ass rant 😭

[nethhiri]

Chapter 60: 2 Eyes, 2 Furious

Sorry this took so long, everyone! I've been incredibly busy at work and have a lot of presentations coming up, so it may be slow for a while. Thank you so much for sticking around and being patient <3

Warnings: Sexual violence, torture, gore, body horror

The second you got your full vision back, you knew exactly what you wanted to do. It was exactly what you promised to do. Warthin was waiting for you with bated breath in the brig and you didn't want to keep him waiting much longer. You wouldn't want him to forget how much he should fear you. Kid was reluctant to release you, finally fully absolved of his asshole crimes. You could tell he really wanted you all to himself after being shut out of your company for a while. You had missed him, too, as much as he angered you. While you enjoyed being alone in the dungeon, free to do whatever fucked up thing your heart desired without judgement, it did get lonely. And you did want some recognition for your excellent torturing skills. 

"Captain?"

"Yes, doll?"

"Would you like to come downstairs with me?" 

"I thought ya'd never ask." Kid grinned and set you down on the deck. "Meet ya in five minutes."

You continued to the brig without him, wide smile creeping across your face. It was going to feel so good to watch those fucks squirm with both of your eyes. You kicked open the door to the brig, sauntering in with wicked thoughts brimming from your mind. You paced back and forth waiting for Kid, grabbing a cat o' nine tails off the wall. You may as well warm up while you waited. Warthin was still on his hands and knees in the position you had left him in. His back was a canvas begging to be painted red. Some days, you thought about trying to erase the memories of your captivity. If you did that, however, you wouldn't have the fuel to dole out the retribution these people deserved. 

"None of you noticed my new eye. I'm offended." You slapped the handle of the nine tails in the palm of your hand. "Today, I thought we could start with some light whipping, then move on to couple's therapy, then finish up with group brutality. Any thoughts, questions, concerns? No? Good."

For the better part of a  half-hour, you introduced the cat o' nine tails to Warthin's back, admiring the criss-crossed welts and lacerations that bloomed across his skin. Where the fuck is he? Kid was sure taking his time. Maybe he had gotten called away to take care of something. They had been talking about some abandoned island they'd heard about recently. It was probably something about that. Warthin's whimpering and sobbing brought overcame your thoughts. With one last, hard, lash, you left him to leak tears and blood onto the floor. The precious few marines you had left were very nearly broken. Their faces were fully drenched in dread and dripping with misery. Only the tiniest glimmer remained in their eyes, and you would make sure it was snuffed out.  

You put your full body into their flogging. The sharp points on each end of the whips were invisible as they whipped through the air and the fleshy, wet impact was satisfying to your ears, though you wish you could hear more of it through their complaining. By the time you were out of breath, Kid still wasn't there and you felt like that was enough of a warm up. It was fine to switch your schedule around. You paced the wall of prisoners, sticking your fingers into their wounds while you thought about how you were going to do this. Warthin was in perfection position already. As promised, everything they did to you was going to be done to them.

"I hope you've all decided to cooperate." You bent down and jerked Warthin's head back by his hair, hissing in his face. "Aren't you excited? What's wrong?"

"P-please. Don't do this. Kill me fifty, no, one thousand more times but d-don't do this."

"I'm confused. You seemed to love it a few weeks ago." When he didn't reply, you continued, "Oh! I get it! You don't like being on the receiving end. Hold on. Let me check to something." You addressed the marines strung up on the wall, pointing at them as you spoke. "Remember when I said you needed to choose to fuck him or get fucked? Did anyone choose to get fucked? No?" You turned attention back to Warthin. "Yeah... unfortunately it seems like that's too fucking bad." You slapped him on the cheek and grinned. "I don't enjoy doing this, so you know. But I will enjoy your suffering." 

The marine that seemed to have something against Warthin would be first. You took him from the wall and shackled him behind Warthin, with room to move. The one that won your little race went in front. The last remaining marine had a very special job. You had pruning shears for him to use later. They were a little rusty, probably not sharp, and had dried blood in the crevices. Warthin could dish it out but he couldn't take it. Suddenly, his manhood left his body and turned him into a sniveling bitch. So he would be taken like a bitch and you would have his manhood permanently removed. 

"I want him in tears." You gestured for them to begin.

When you said you didn't enjoy doing this, it was the truth. It made you feel like a hypocrite in some respects. You were true to your word, however, and stuck to your "eye for an eye" ideology. Warthin deserved to feel everything that you had gone through. Maybe he would feel even a sliver of remorse for everything he had done if he knew how much pain it caused firsthand. Judging from his screams, he was learning. Soon, even his screams were muffled and occasional gagging replaced them. 

It took them a minute to get started. Something about raping their superior had them shy. Funny, it didn't seem to stop them when it was you. A little persuasion helped them get into the mood, that and you manipulating them with your devil fruit. They would probably last a few hours, again thanks to your devil fruit. While they weren't grateful in the beginning for that, they were after you told them the first one to finish would win a unique prize. They knew by now that your promises were never good. Honestly, you got bored pretty quickly since you weren't the one directly inflicting pain. 

"Tell me where to find Von Kossa and I'll make it stop," you addressed Warthin.

He didn't have an answer for you.

"Every time you refuse to answer, I'll make his dick bigger and your asshole smaller. So tell me what I want to know."

Warthin was struggling to stay conscious, or more likely, trying to retreat into the recesses of his mind. Something you were quite familiar with, thanks to him. 

"Where is he?"

He was still present, but gave no answer. 

You followed through with your threat, causing the marine fucking his ass to wince and a despair-filled wail to come from Warthin. "Tell me," you commanded him. 

This went on a few more times before he crumbled. He started to say something, but there was a cock in the way, so you paused the mouth fucker and allowed Warthin to speak.

"I d-don't know where..." He paused to retch. "...he is." He saw the displeasure cross your face. "BUT! Hang on!" He weakly held his hand out in the universal gesture to stop. "Your ship. I can t-tell you where it is." 

"Go on."

"Gomori Island."

"Okay." You clapped your hands. "Continue."

"BUT I TOLD YOU SOMETHING."

"And? That's not what I asked for, is it?" 

"B-but it's your ship!"

There was still a part of you that longed for your ship deep down. "This is my ship." Not literally of course, but this was your home now. "Anyway, continue."

"NO! N-." He was cut off by the resumed throat fucking.

That pissed you off. Your arms were folded and the more you thought about it, the harder your hands clenched into fists. Warthin thought he could buy you. He thought he was still in control of what was happening here. You walked closer to him and healed his back, leaving only fresh, unmarred skin. Other torturers probably wouldn't have the balls to put a blade in the hand of a prisoner. But you weren't like other torturers, nor were you ignorant enough to let a prisoner get the upper hand. You gave a small knife to the butt-fucking marine and pushed the face-fucking one away. The, you kicked Warthin in the head as hard as you could. You really wanted to bludgeon him to death at the moment. You settled for one solid kick.

"You must think I'm stupid," You sneered. "I always get what I want and you don't get to compromise with me. So tell me where Von Kossa is or keep your worthless mouth shut." 

A bright red and purple bruise bloomed on the side of his face and one of his eyes had blood leaking into the whites. The bones of his cheek and eye socket were collapsed, deforming his face. 

"You're going to write me an apology, and since you're otherwise occupied, Lieutenant Buttfuck over here is going to write it down for you. Start telling him what to write." You motioned to the knife and Warthin's back. "You, write. And don't stop fucking him."

Between the kick in the head and his asshole ripping, Warthin could barely focus on thinking of an apology. Several times he had to restart because his buddy's handwriting wasn't legible. It ends up taking quite a long time. At least this was less boring than before, and maybe now you would have something worth mailing to the marines. Something like this might force Von Kossa out since it was essentially a written confession implicating him. Would it be like kicking a bee's nest to taunt the marines this way? Probably, but the idea brought a smile to your face. If they didn't already know you were alive, they would. 

While they were busy doing that, you didn't want the other two to miss out on any fun. That wouldn't be fair. You wished Kid would show his face. It was tiring having to torture four people simultaneously by yourself. You really were an artist, a director. A director of the most gruesome play on a private stage. The other two, you decided, would be sewn together in a sort of ouroboros sixty-nining situation, constantly choking and gagging but unable to pull away. They rolled around on the floor, desperate to find a position that offered any relief. You had to stomp them or kick them away a few times when they almost interrupted your other venture. When your written apology was finished, you kicked your prisoner away from Warthin, dick popping out of Warthin's ass with a wet popping sound. With a wave of your hand you incapacitated him with the exception of his arm and his cock. 

"Cut your cock off. You don't need it anymore."

He hesitated, eyes wide. 

"Cut it off or I'll make it explode. No. I'll make it implode. That's right. Implode." You didn't actually know what that entailed. Something like the penis involuting back inside his body or folding in on itself you imagined.

He started sawing the thing off immediately, which was taking much longer than expected since all the letter carving dulled the blade. You were impressed that he held in his screams even a little bit. Not long after, he was spitting and screaming and wailing, cursing your name. While your wards were busy, you started meticulously skinning Warthin's back. If you could dry and tan the skin properly, it would look sick. You couldn't very well send it fresh or the rot would mess the words up. 

Engrossed in your detailed work, you almost didn't see the door open. Kid stood in the doorway, taking in your activities. His expression ranged from shock to bewilderment to acceptance, all in swift succession.

"Where the fuck have ya been?"

"I was about to say the same thing!"

"Was waitin for ya in my cabin."

"I said- oh you thought downstairs meant-" You rolled your eyes. "You were waiting this whole time? It's been hours."

Kid scoffed. "I only waited like twenty minutes."

"So what were you doing the rest of the time?"

"Jerking off? Duh."

"It's been hours."

"I was edging in case ya showed up."

"There's something wrong with you."

Kid looked pointedly at what you were doing.

"What? This is my craft." 

"Jerking off is my craft." Kid noticed the two guys still struggling on the floor. "Nice."

This perked you up. "Do you like it?"

"Ya know I like when ya do fucked up shit." Kid's eyes drifted among your victims. "Damn, did ya leave anything for me?"

You freed the two marines who were attached mouth-to-dick with your fruit, separating them. They were in mostly good shape. "I thought we could try something new." 

"Oh fuck yeah! Like pegging?" 

"New torture. Torture." 

"So is that a firm no?"

You stared incredulously at him. "Do you think you could focus?"

"Whatever, doll." Kid huffed, coming over to pat your head. "What does yer little heart desire?"

You were finishing up removing the skin from Warthin's back. "Remember a while back, when I suggested that you could probably control blood?"

"Aye, that was right before we-"

"Yes. Right before that." You cut him off, not really wanting to share any of those details with the ears of prisoners. 

Kid's wide grin flashed. "I've been curious about that myself."

After you hung Warthin's skin up to dry, Kid and yourself put the prisoners back on the wall. You grabbed the dismembered... member, and shoved it into its owners mouth, not with your bare hand, of course. Then you gagged him, hoping he would slowly choke to death. You didn't forget to take the knife away from him either. Kid was exceedingly rough when he put Warthin back into the wall shackles, making sure his raw back was touching the rough wall as much as possible, and stretching his joints to their limits. Actually, you were certain his shoulders were dislocated. They were all screaming, yet you could mostly tune it out since you were so used to it. 

Starting simple, you put a small cut in one of the marines. The blood trickled out slowly. Kid tried to focus on feeling the blood, like how he could feel metal objects. It was a much fainter sense than he was accustomed to, yet he was certain he could feel it. Kid put all his effort into redirecting the drip horizontally, defying gravity. It paused for half a second, possibly moving almost indiscernibly to the right. Seeing this, Kid gained confidence that this was something he could do. If he could learn it, and control it, it would prove to be a very dangerous power. And he could keep his dick hard longer. This new thought motivated him. He wasn't even going to think about trying it until he was sure he wouldn't blow his cock off, even though he had some incredibly detailed plans for a mechanical replacement penis with a bunch of awesome attachments, including but not limited to, a flamethrower and nail clippers. If it ever came to that.

Whenever Kid got frustrated with his lack of progress, there were very stress-relieving meat punching bags ready to take his anger out on. All you did was heal them enough so that they would live, not live really, but so they would die differently later. You noticed that he would hit Warthin much harder than the rest of them. It was touching that he still harbored rage for him on your behalf. It must have been an hour before Kid managed to move a finger. After he moved the trickling blood stream, he graduated to trying to move blood still inside the person. He was stuck on moving the fingers ever so slightly. He couldn't do more than that.

"This shit is too fucking hard!" 

"Are you a quitter?"

"NO!" Kid growled. "What's the fuckin point? Yer power can do this!"

"What if I'm not around and you need to use it?"

"When are ya not gonna be around?!"

"I don't know! It's a hypothetical!"

"YER NOT LEAVIN MY SIGHT! Ya keep getting lost!"

"Technically, I was stolen."

"DON'T FUCKIN REMIND ME!" Kid turned his attention to Warthin, barely restraining himself from ripping him apart.

"I'm not planning on going anywhere." You put his attention back on his task. Maybe later you would let him have a turn with Warthin. It might be fun to watch Kid and Killer take their anger out on him.

Kid struggled for a while longer, getting more irritated with every passing second. You figured it might be like this. You could always take a break and try again some other time. No one can master a technique in a day. You suggested taking a break but he shot you down, now too stubborn to give up. Kid was predictable. As such, you thought of something that may help. 

"Hey."

"WHAT?!"

"If you can move his arm, I'll peg you."

Kid blinked and turned back to the marine. Without warning, the marine's arm popped off his body and flew around the room like an untied balloon, spraying blood over both of you. 

His amber eyes glanced at the stump of the marines arm and the lifeless limb on the floor. "HA! LET'S GO!" He ran and grabbed you around the middle, barreling toward the door.

"Wait! Wait." He set you down. "I almost forgot." You found the long gloves that were kept for messy situations and donned them. Then, you grabbed the pruning shears and held them over a flame until they glowed molten orange. This was meant to be done by the leftover marine since you didn't really want to touch Warthin's dick at all. It still made your skin crawl to think about. The pleasure of chopping his dick off and shoving it up his ass should really be yours and no one else's, however, so you made the sacrifice.

You imagined it would be one clean chop. To his dismay, it took several chops to get the thing off, quite a lot really. It just kept getting jammed between the blades, folding over them, instead of being cut, like when you cut plastic ties with dull scissors. The entire point of heating it was to cauterize the vessels so it didn't make him bleed out. That didn't really pan out since it cooled down over the period of cutting. You feigned an apologetic expression as you mangled it further. It looked like you stuffed firecrackers in one end of it by the time you had actually severed it completely, or maybe like a small dog had gnawed on it for a while. It mattered little what it looked like because you held it in your fist and punched it straight up his asshole, reaching as far as you could go and jamming it there. The disgust hit later. In the moment, it felt good to hurt him. You wanted to rip him apart from the inside. You wanted to shove both your arms up his ass and tear him in two. And you could probably do it. But it was almost time for dinner and you didn't want to spoil your appetite. 

Tag list: @bbnbhm @nocturnalrorobin @wgwingguns

[kazumist]

EPISODE 18 ♡ KISS ME BEFORE I GO?

HOW YOU GET THE GIRL — A SCARAMOUCHE SMAU

masterlist / prev ep / next ep / wc: 1062.

cw: more drinking (sorry), more profanities too, a kiss somewhere in there (is that really a warning?)

“we leave you alone for one second, and you’re already picking fights.” kazuha scolds kuni as soon as he gets back to their table.

kunikuzushi doesn’t know how you and heizou got to the table as well. but now, you’re all sitting around and playing “spin the bottle”. the game is simple, you spin the bottle, and whoever it lands on has to take a shot.

the bottle stops spinning.

and it lands on you.

“hand it over.” you downed the shot of tequila.

you again.

“i’ll take it.” kuni says. he got glances from the others but they gave him the shot anyway.

lyney spins the bottle, but it lands on you again.

what fuck is up with this bottle? you thought.

“i’ll also—” kuni gets cut off by someone.

“i’ll take it," heizou says.

the tension was getting thicker.

the bottle was spun again, but this time it landed on kuni. you took the shot for him.

one last spin, and it lands on you again.

“me.”

“me.”

both kuni and heizou said it at the same time.

“to kuni.” lyney slides the shot over to him.

“fucking hell, it’ll take me a years to get drunk at this point.” you said, grabbing the bottle from lyney and drinking the remains in seconds. there wasn’t that much left anyway, so you were still good.

“okay, next game! this one is a personal favorite. it’s called king’s cup. each of you will pick out a card, and each card corresponds to an action. kuni, would you mind doing the honors of shuffling our lovely deck?” lyney says.

as soon as kuni stops shuffling the deck, the game starts. “kazuha, you go.”

“three of hearts. three means me. i’ll take two shots, then.” kazuha says, downing the two drinks immediately.

“lynette, you’re up next.”

“nine, rhyme. let’s go with lie.”

“sky.” kazuha replies.

“fly.” lyney’s eyes slowly watch over everyone.

“cry.” you said. kuni looks at you.

“try.” heizou looks at kuni.

“die.” kuni returns the favor.

yanfei was far too busy looking at a certain pigtailed girl in the dancefloor to even notice that it’s her turn. “time’s up, fei. drink up.”

“shit, sorry.” yanfei drank her shot right after.

“kuni, it's your turn.”

“eight, mate.” kunikuzushi says. “pick a drinking buddy.” he already knows who he's gonna pick. “you.” heizou.

“game.” heizou smirked.

the “mates” chugged down another shot of tequila and had a short staring contest. heizou was the first one to look away, leaving kunikuzushi smirking in victory. kuni looks in your direction, only to find you already staring at him.

when it was heizou’s turn, he seemed delighted with the card he got. “queen, question master," he says. “are you single by any chance?” he points at kazuha.

“huh?”

“i’m asking you if you're single.”

“why? aren't you and (name)...” kazuha was confused. very confused.

“what? are you serious? i’m hitting on you for fuck's sake!”

“well, i am. can i have your number by any chance?”

kunikuzushi was left fucking dumbfounded by that. what did this mean? he was apparently jealous over nothing. does this mean he has a chance now?

“my turn," you say. kuni’s eyes shifted towards you immediately. “queen as well, question master.”

“kuni.” a few ‘oohs’ could be heard. “who was the girl you picked up back then at the bus stop near uni?”

“huh?” he didn't process that one immediately.

“wait, what?”

“you heard me, kuni. answer the question.”

kuni took a bit of his time to think about what you were referring to, and now he finally remembers, “that was my cousin.”

“what the fuck? so it wasn't another girl? what about the one you talked about earlier?”

“i don't even know who that was. she said she liked me, but whatever. there was never another girl, but maybe for you there was another guy.” kunikuzushi whispers the last sentence, but you still hear him.

“excuse me? the fuck do you mean another guy when the guy you thought i was with is literally flirting with your best friend? did you even realize they left the table already?” you defended yourself.

kuni raises an eyebrow at you. “but he kept taking your shots?”

“oh, i was just messing with you. you look funny when you're mad, like a pissed off cat," heizou says, kuni curses at him in return.

and kuni drank another shot, now cursing at himself for how stupid he was. you also drank out of frustration over what had just happened.

soon after, you all decided it would be best to go home when lyney finally got himself drunk after hosting the two games earlier. kuni pulls you away from the crowd in an attempt to leave the bar first. after bribing the bouncer, you two stood near the entrance.

“i can't drive. so kazuha is going to take you home. they'll be out in a bit," he says. the others started going out one by one, but kunikuzushi held you by the shoulders before you could leave. “listen to me.”

“by the time you wake up tomorrow, tell me that you love me. tell me that you're finally willing to let me love you the way that you deserve to be loved. tell me you want me.” his face was dangerously getting closer to yours.

“i’ve said this too many times to count, but i love you. i’ll never get tired of saying it because it's true. i love you, (name). always have, and always will. forever and always.”

“kuni, i’m honestly drunk right now, and i don't know shit, but i do know that i love you too.”

“there you go.” he boops your nose. “see you.”

“kiss me before i go?”

“hmm, maybe when you show me that you love me as much as i love you, then sure," he says, starting to walk away from you.

“ah, fuck it.” he turns around and walks back fast.

his lips brushed over yours softly. the kiss was gentle and slow, enough for him to relish the moment and enough for you to taste the alcohol from his lips.

it felt right—perfect, even.

when you got into the car, kuni decided to stay out a bit more late.

and both of you could not wait for tomorrow to come.

extra notes.

i believe this is my cue to not update for the rest of the month /j

i told u all it gets better

taglist (open): @yinyinggie @blue-b3rries @ryuryuryuyurboat @your-local-reblogging-kazoo @lilikags @haliyamori @diorlumx @mamafly @zuunotsane @iloveosamuu @featuredtofu @kana-de @xiaoderrrr @f1orent1ne @alhaitie @yelleloww @brain-r0tt @jamieexistss @danfelions @e0nssadrift @lovemari @kunikissr @chluuvr @lazy-sanns @lxkeeeee @swivy123 @sketcheeee @quacking-simp @tiredslepz @vxcmx @kichiy0shi @yingofthemoon @feiherp @sicut-sol @mayuumine @xiaosoneandonly @xtobefreex @bananasquash @im-the-ruler-here @hiraethhv @yumiaur @oughhhhmamamia @beriiov @cindywasneverhere @klanxii @fangygf @draclula @aromaticism @shotosjupiter @lyzisbitchingagain @lovelykrystal @riraaya @aether-darling @kochothehoe [1/2]

[topguncortez]

What to Expect | Chapter 15

previous part | masterlist | next part

synopsis: the two of you find out the results of the DNA test. Jake isn't sure if coming back into your life was the right thing to do.

word count: 4.9k

warnings: smut, pregnancy, cursing, questions of paternity, unrequited love, fighting, mentions of infidelity

Miramar, nine months ago 

You didn’t think you’d ever find yourself back in the Hard Deck. At least not by yourself anyway. It had been just a little short of three months since the break-up and moving back to North Island. Your friend from high school, Alyssa, had tried to get you to go out with her on many occasions, but the pain in your chest stopped you from going. You knew that it would but unlikely that you would run into him, but even the slightest possibility made your chest start to hurt. But here you are tonight, out celebrating Alyssa’s birthday at the Hard Deck, feeling your heartbeat pick up a bit at the sight of any Naval aviator walking through the door. 

“You need to stop stressing,” Alyssa said, coming up to you and placing two shots in front of you. 

“And you think shots are the way to do it?” You asked and Alyssa nodded, pushing the small glasses towards you. 

“Loosen up, babe. Your wound tighter than a virgin.” 

“Who’s a virgin?” 

Now that was a voice that you didn’t expect to hear tonight. You looked over your shoulder to see none other than Bradley Bradshaw standing there wearing a ridiculous Hawaiian shirt and his sunglasses on his eyes. You smiled as you turned to give him a hug. You hadn’t seen him since he made the flight up to Lemoore to help you bring all your stuff back down. 

Bradley was never a fan of your relationship with Jake. He was always weary of it, waiting and watching for the moment when Jake would inevitably fuck up, and then Bradley would swoop in. But when Jake showed Bradley the ring he had gotten you, Bradley knew that there was nothing in this world that was going to stop you from becoming Mrs. Jake Seresin. When Bradley got the facetime call from you, he expected to hear cries of joy and to see you flashing that almost too big diamond in his face. Except he was met with your tear stained face and you begging Bradley to explain what happened on the Uranium Mission. He wasn’t going to tell you all the details about, you were never supposed to know, but seeing you in such pain, Bradley was going to tell you until you asked him about “the girl Jake was with” and he knew right away this was more than just about flying. 

“I missed you,” You said as Bradley hugged you back. 

“I missed you too,” He said and kissed the top of your head, “How are you settling in?” 

“I’m staying with my parents, how do you think?” You deadpanned and Bradley laughed. He knew you loved your parents and always looked forward to visiting from Lemoore, but moving back in with them was a different story. 

“Well isn’t this reunion just fun!” Alyssa said, “Maybe you can coax her into doing shots with me, Bradshaw?” 

Alyssa got along surprisingly well with Bradley. At first, you thought that she maybe even had a thing for him, but she assured you that Bradley did not have the right parts to attract her. The two of them were like bonus siblings, and even argued like it. Alyssa was like the devil on your shoulder, always encouraging you to do something stupid like hop the pool fence at the country club, while Bradley was the voice of reason and the one who would talk to cops out of not fining you with trespassing. 

“Come on, Bug! Don’t be such a stiff,” Bradley said and pushed the shots closer to you. 

“Just these two!” You said, “No more after this!” 

You wish that those words had been the truth. And you wished that you would’ve taken a shot of anything else but tequila. You should’ve known that Alyssa was going to give you tequila shots, the girl could drink it like it was water. You, on the other hand, felt tipsy after just those two shots. The night was a blur as you drank with Bradley and Alyssa, going from the Hard Deck to another bar not far away from base. The only reason you had ventured out was because you told them you wanted to go dancing, and Penny was not about to let you dance on top of the bar. 

“Ya know,” You shouted over the music as you danced with Bradley, “I’ve always had a thing for you.” Your words were slurred and your eyes a bit bleary as you threw your arms around Bradley’s neck. He chuckled as he rested his hands on your hips, pulling you closer to him. 

“I know you did,” Bradley said back, “It was obvious. Had my own little fan club at age thirteen.” 

“Oh shut it,” You playfully shoved him, but Bradley just pulled you right back into him. It was some overplayed pop song bursting through the speaker, something that neither you nor Bradley listened to. But the bass from the speakers seemed to push you two together and you found yourself grinding your ass against Bradley’s front. 

“Didn’t know you could dance like this?” Bradley said, his hot breath fanning over your neck and shoulders. 

“There’s a lot you don’t know,” You said back, tilting your head to rest against his shoulder. You had never noticed the different colors of brown in his eyes until this moment. You could see the lighter strands of gold and brown reflecting from the lights in the bar. You reached your hand up, your fingers running gently over the scars on his cheek. You could remember the day he got them, and how he said they made him seem ugly, but you told him that they made him unique. Gave him more of a story to talk about. 

Blame it on the alcohol or the liquid courage in your body, as you leaned up to kiss Bradley. It had both taken you by surprise, a gasp leaving his lips, but he quickly recovered. He turned you around to face him, so he could kiss you properly, his hands roaming your body and pulling you in, as if it were possible, closer. Your hands tangled in his brown locks, feeling the soft curls between your fingers. You could feel the hardening of his cock against you, and pulled away breathlessly. 

“I’m so sorry,” Bradley said, “I shouldn’t have-” you cut off his apology by kissing him again. 

“Bradley,” You said against his lips. You looked up at him, seeing his big brown eyes blown with lust, his lips red from the kiss. You pulled him in close again, “I need you.” 

Bradley nodded and kissed you again, “You got me, sweetheart.” 

— — — 

It had been two days since Jake saw the letter that held the results of the paternity test. It was three days of radio silence throughout the whole house. He wouldn’t leave, despite every molecule in his body telling him that he should. He didn’t want to leave in case you went into labor early or something else were to happen. You still hadn’t opened the envelope. It sat crumbled on top of your dresser where Jake had left it. 

You expected him to yell at you when you told him about sleeping with Bradley a week before you slept with him, but he didn’t. Instead, he just looked at you with disappointment in his eyes, and left your bedroom quietly. He went down to his own and locked the door so you wouldn’t come in and try to talk to him. And that’s how it has been every night. He would come home from work, help you make dinner, sit and eat with you in awkward silence, help you clean up and then go to his room for the night. 

It was painful. The whole thing was absolutely painful. You wish he would get mad at you. You wished he would yell or slam the doors or do something other than give you the silent treatment. This was worse than any fight that you two could’ve had. It was worse because you didn’t know what he was thinking. Maybe he was thinking that Rooster was right, and he should’ve just sent money and stayed away from you. Maybe he was thinking his father was right and he should’ve had the test done a long time again. Or maybe he was thinking about it when he said he’d take you to court and fight you for custody. You gulped as you thought of the mess that could lead to. Courtrooms, and lawyers, and tears, and even more pain. And it was all because you couldn’t just let things be. 

By the third night of sleeping alone, you had had enough. You had gotten used to Jake's presence next to you and hearing his loud snoring. Herc had taken the spot that Jake used to lay, and as much as you loved the dog, you needed Jake’s body next to yours. You huffed as you pushed yourself up, slipping on your robe and slippers as you walked down the hall towards his room. His door was shut and you knew that it was probably locked but you knocked anyway. 

“Jake!” You said, knocking on his door, “Can you open the door please? We need to talk.” You could hear shuffling from the other side of the door, and you peered down to see that the light was still on, “I know you’re awake!” You knocked again, “Please, this is important.” There was more shuffling and you were starting to grow annoyed as you knocked harshly again on the door, “Open the fucking-” 

“What do you want?” Jake asked as he ripped the door open. You suddenly felt small looking at him. His body was bare save for his boxers, his hair was messy and his eyes were red as if he had been crying. 

“I want to talk to you,” You said and Jake scoffed, “Please.” 

“No,” Jake said and went to shut the door on you, but you held your hand out stopping it, “Go back to bed.” 

“I can’t sleep,” You admitted, “You are the only one who seems to be able to get her to calm down at night, and I need you.” 

“Yeah? Or do you need Rooster to come talk to his kid,” That hurt more than it needed to. Jake felt immediate guilt when the words left his mouth but he couldn’t show that, so instead he clenched his jaw and stared at you as tears welled up in your eyes. 

“I said I was sorry,” Your voice cracked as you spoke, “I never meant for this to happen at all! The paternity test wasn’t supposed to break-” 

“Then why did you do it?” Jake asked the question that had been lingering between the two of you for days: why? Why did you sleep with Rooster? Why did you sleep with Jake? Why hadn’t you told Jake about this sooner? Why did you get the test done at all? There were so many why’s but you didn’t have any of the answers. But you gave Jake the best one you could think of. 

“Because I don’t want you to waste your time,” You answered truthfully and Jake sighed. 

“I wouldn’t be wasting my time, and I haven’t wasted any time,” Jake said, “We were both better off living in blissful ignorance than knowing at all.” 

He was right. The thought that this baby might be anything but Jake’s had only crossed your mind once, very early on in your pregnancy, but until a couple weeks ago, you never doubted it. But now, as the results sat in the room down the hall, you were doubting every single thing. You were angry at yourself for not knowing sooner and possibly depriving one man of important milestones and time during your pregnancy. 

“But, since you opened that can of worms. . . I can’t sleep either,” Jake said, “I can’t sleep knowing that this baby might not be mine, and that the father isn’t here. It’ll fucking suck and hurt worse than any injury I have ever had, but if it is his, you can’t deprive Rooster of any time he has left before the baby is born.” 

“I’m scared to open it,” You reached into the pocket of your robe and held out the letter. Jake hadn’t seen it since he nearly tore it to pieces in his hand. He frowned as he reached out and took it from your hands. You followed him wordlessly into the guest room and sat down on the bed. You looked down at the floor as Jake tore the letter open and unfolded it. 

His green eyes searched over the words in bold letters. 

‘Y/N KAZANSKY’ 

PATERNAL DNA RESULT: 

BRADLEY J. BRADSHAW: NEGATIVE MATCH’ 

Jake felt like the air had reentered his lungs as he looked at the results. The baby wasn’t Bradley’s, the baby was truly Jake’s. He felt like celebrating, but then he saw the look of fear on your face, and he handed you the letter to read for yourself. You gasped and then looked up at Jake, fresh tears rolling down your cheeks. 

“I’m so-” 

“It’s okay,” Jake said cutting you off, “Now we know, and I can tell my father that we have the results,” Everything coming out of Jake’s mouth sounded so formal, so unlike the man you had started to fall in love with all over again, “Do you need anything else?” 

“N-No,” You shook your head. 

“Then can you please leave my room so I can get some sleep? I have to be up early for work.” 

You felt like crying all over again as you stood up from the bed and walked past Jake, not saying anything to him. You thought that once you had the results things would go back to normal between the two of you, but you were wrong. Jake clenched his jaw as you shut the door, and he sat down in the same spot you occupied. He wasn’t sure what to feel. Sure, he was angry that you had done the test without his knowledge. He was mad at his dad for even suggesting that the baby was anyones but his. And he was mad that you had hooked up with Bradley, and never said anything. 

The two of you were broken up during that time, and you were free to do what you want with who you wanted. Jake couldn’t lie and say that he didn’t hook up with a few women after you left Lemoore. But he was also spending every night coming home to an empty house and crying himself to sleep. He was taking every single mission that he could, flying like he was not afraid to not make it back home, and filling his liver with enough alcohol to probably start a house fire. It was his fault that you had left due to a lie that he had factored up in his mind because he was scared to take the next step. But he didn’t know that it had pushed you right into the arms of a man he was always jealous of. 

Jake thought it was dumb to be jealous of Bradley Bradshaw. The man didn’t have hardly anything to be jealous of. His parents were dead, he didn’t have a family, he had hardly even had a name for himself outside of the Navy. Bradley would probably have to serve his whole career in the Navy to have a good retirement, but Jake. . . Jake could walk away tomorrow and be just fine. But what Jake was jealous of was the way Bradley had always fit so comfortably in your life. Bradley knew the right things to say, the right things to do. Jake always felt like he was stumbling in the dark when it came to you. 

But the anger that Jake was feeling was slowly starting to subside. The results of the question that had been running through your minds for the last week or so had been answered. There was no more speculating, no more wondering. He was having a daughter with you. He was going to be a father in a number of weeks. But why wasn’t he feeling joy or happiness? 

— — — 

“I didn’t think he wanted to do anything for his birthday?” Alyssa asked as you walked down the aisles at Target. You were looking for a gift to get Jake. Something that would say ‘I'm sorry I slept with my best friend and didn’t tell you that you might not be the father of the baby, but now we know that you are’. Things were still awkward at the house, and it was starting to give you anxiety even thinking about going home. 

“He doesn’t,” You said, looking at some random wallet, “But it’s his 30th birthday, it’s a big deal.” 

“He’s still not talking to you?” 

You sucked in a breath and turned to look at her, “I don’t know what to do.” Your voice cracked and Alyssa moved quickly to hug you. It had been weeks since you had been hugged, and you didn’t realize you were touch starved until this moment. You cried into Alyssa’s shoulder as she rubbed your back, shushing your cries and glaring at the people walking by. 

“It’s okay,” Alyssa said. 

“It’s not okay!” You cried, “God, why do I have to fuck everything up!?” 

“You didn’t fuck anything up,” Alyssa said and pulled back from you. She reached into her purse and handed you a kleenex, “Should you have not slept with two men in a span of two weeks? Probably not. But at least you are doing the right thing. Have you told Bradley?” 

You nodded, “He’s not upset as I thought he would be. He never thought it was his anyway. I was actually smart then and we used a condom. He said he checked it for leaks and there weren’t any but he was willing to do it to help me get some peace of mind.” 

“Well at least you have him,” Alyssa grabbed your hand, “Jake is so stupidly in love with you and this baby, that this is not going to deter him from getting the final goal.” 

“And what is that?”

“You. Y/N, he wants you. He wants this baby. He wants his family. It’s all he’s ever wanted in life. He was just too blind and scared to see it.” 

You looked down at your belly, seeing it move from the baby kicking. Your mom said the other day it looked like you had started to drop, and you could feel the baby sitting lower in your hips. Your due date was still about two weeks away, but you knew that really didn’t mean much. Babies came when they were ready, due date or not. 

Alyssa was right, all Jake had ever wanted in life was a family of his own. His own family was crap. His father was a cold heartless monster, and his mother was not much better. His sisters hardly talked to him unless it was around the holidays and they were sending their kids’ Christmas lists. He had found solace and comfort within your family. Your parents welcomed him the very first time they met him. Your siblings, even Gia, got along with him. Every holiday, every vacation, every birthday for the past five years, Jake had spent with the Kazanskys. He wanted a family of his own, just like yours. 

“What do I do, Ally?” You asked and she smiled sadly at you. 

“You let him come to you, when he’s ready,” Alyssa said, “He’s still scared of his own shadow. You can’t corner a scared dog. Now come on, I think I know the perfect gift to give him.” 

— — — 

Jake was not feeling up to drinks tonight. He just wanted to stay at home and relax. Maybe find a baseball game on TV to watch or find a book to read. For the last week you had been avoiding each other by staying on opposite ends of the house. If you were in the nursery folding clothes or moving things around, Jake was down stairs in the living room or kitchen. If you were in the kitchen or living room, Jake would be up in his room. The only time you ever saw each other was in the morning, at night, or at your doctor's appointments with doctor Miller. You had your final check up the other day, and she said you were on track to hopefully deliver within the next week on the 15th, which would be Jake’s actual birthday. 

“I don’t want to be here,” Jake said to Phoenix as she dragged him by his wrist up the stairs, “Why are you making me be here?” 

“Because my girlfriend spent her hard time and money with your girlfriend trying to make this special for you,” Phoenix said. 

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Jake said coldly and Phoenix nodded. 

“Okay, well, Y/N wanted to do something special for you,” Phoenix corrected herself, “Since we probably won’t be able to celebrate on your actual birthday. . .” She opened the door to the Hard Deck and Jake’s eyes widened in surprise as his close friends all shouted ‘Happy Birthday’ as he walked in. 

“Holy shit,” Jake smiled as he looked at the banner that hung from the rafters and the streams and balloons around the place, “This for me?” 

“Yeah,” You said, taking a step forward, “You only turn thirty once!” 

Jake just nodded at you, not saying a word and going to greet his friends. You clenched your jaw as you tried to pretend that that didn’t hurt. You turned to see Alyssa and Phoenix looking at you with sadness in your eyes, but you just shook it off. This night was about Jake and celebrating him, you were not about to make it about you. You pushed your feelings aside, and plastered a smile on your face as you walked over to where Stephanie and Coyote’s girlfriend were talking. 

You weren’t sure how Jake managed to ignore you the whole night, but he had managed to do it. You were sitting at a table with Alyssa, Phoenix and Stephanie, hardly listening to a word they said and twirling your stray around in your iced tea as you watched Jake and his friends laugh around the pool table. You also noticed that there was a blonde girl who kept hanging around Jake the whole time. If you weren’t trying to just lay low and get through the night, you would have stormed over there and pulled her off of him. But instead, you swallowed down your jealousy feelings and stayed on the other side of the Hard Deck. 

“I need to get some air,” You said, and stood up from the table. You thought your movement went unnoticed, as the Hard Deck was packed with people, but two sets of eyes followed your frame through the crowd and out the door. 

“Bagman,” Coyote said, and Jake broke his eye contact, “Your move.” 

The night air was cool and you could smell the salt water from the back deck. The moon was high in the sky, giving a very dim light. You thought about going to sit down by the water, but you weren’t sure if you would be able to get back up by yourself. So, you are stuck with standing and watching the waves crash. 

“Are you okay?” A voice said from behind you. You looked over your shoulder to see your father. 

“I’m fine,” You said and looked back to the ocean. 

Iceman sighed, and walked towards you, leaning against the railing and looking out at the sea. He liked the ocean as much as you did. He was always thankful that he got to be stationed near the ocean during his career. He would probably go crazy if he lived in a landlocked state. 

“You don’t have to tell a lie to protect him,” Iceman said, and you felt your throat start to get thick with tears, “I won’t take it out on him, I promise.” 

You looked from the waves to your dad, your eyes wet with tears, “I messed up.” 

“Oh, sweetheart,” Iceman said, and pulled you into his chest. You felt like you were a little kid again, crying on your dad’s shoulder after Gia had pushed you off your bike or Dylan ate the last cookie. Iceman rubbed your back as you cried, not saying anything but trying to calm your tears. Ice rested his chin on top of your head and just held you until you stopped crying. 

Jake could see you in your father’s arms from his spot in the Hard Deck. It broke his heart to see you like this, and it was because of his own doing. He had too much pride in his body to go to you and apologize for how he has been acting. At first, he thought his actions were justified. That ignoring you for going behind his back and getting a DNA test done and finding out that you slept with Bradley while you were broken up was okay. But he had slowly been watching the light in your eyes diminish over the week. Doctor Miller was very concerned about you at your last check-up. She was in fact so concerned that she thought about sending you up to the L&D floor for monitoring, but you assured her that you were just fine and needed to go home to rest. 

“I should’ve told you,” Bradley said, walking up to Jake. Jake was leaning on the farthest wall in the Hard Deck, several feet away from the crowd around the pool table. Coyote was trying to set up his shot for him and Payback. He bet Alyssa and Phoenix that they couldn’t beat them, and even threw some money in the game. 

“It’s fine,” Jake said and took a sip of his coke. He wasn’t drinking, hasn’t been for weeks. Every time he came to the Hard Deck he would order a coke, or Bob’s favorite, a shirley temple. 

“No, it’s not fine,” Bradley sighed and leaned against the wall next to Jake, “I never thought it could be mine. Ever. And I don’t think she did until your father said something. I honestly think she forgot we even slept together. We were so wasted that-” 

“Is this supposed to make me feel better?” Jake asked, cutting him off, “Sorry. I just don’t want to hear about you and my ex-girlfriend.” 

“I’m sorry,” Bradley said, and took a deep breath, “I don’t agree with her not telling you, I just think that this whole thing has blind sided her and she just never thought of it again. But at least she has done the right thing. She told you, and she found the truth. A truth she never doubted for a second, by the way.” 

Jake nodded and then looked at Bradley, “You would’ve made a better father than me.” 

Bradley scoffed, “Are you kidding? I don’t know the first thing about being a dad. Mine kicked the bucket before I was even out of pull-ups.” 

Jake chuckled, “Yeah, but you had a mom who cared. You have that ‘feminine touch’ or whatever the fuck. I’m too. . . I’m gonna fuck this kid up somehow, I just know it. I sometimes wonder if I made the right choice in coming back to her life.” 

Bradley furrowed his eyebrows, “You’re not going to walk, are you?” Jake hung his head in guilt and Bradley stood up straight, turning his body so he was square with Jake, “You are not going to walk out on her now, are you?” 

“Maybe it’s for the-” 

Bradley cut Jake off by delivering a punch to his jaw. Jake groaned and stumbled a bit, but he recovered quickly and glared at Bradley. He grabbed his wrist and pulled him outside of the Hard Deck, away from all the awestruck stares. 

“What the fuck!?” Jake yelled, once they were outside. 

“You are not going to walk out on them! How could you even think that!?” 

“I don’t know!” Jake ran his hands through his hair, “I don’t know what to do! I’m fucked up, Bradley! I forgive her but I can't say it to her face. I don't stay when things like this happen. That’s my fucking thing, I’m the Hangman, I leave people hanging. This kid has a better chance without me in its life.” 

“Then go,” Your voice was soft, but loud enough that Jake could hear it. He closed his eyes and turned around to see you standing there, your hands cradling your bump, “I know what I did was wrong, and I am so sorry, Jake. But if this is you preparing to leave without so much as an explanation. . . then do it. Go, Jake. You’re off the hook.” 

“I don’t want to be,” Jake called out to you, “I don’t want to be off the hook. I don’t want to leave you either. Am I pissed about Bradshaw? Yeah, I am, but that’s not enough to send me running,” Jake walked up to you, and placed his hands on your belly, “I am not running. I am not leaving her. So please, Y/N. . . let me stay.”

taglist: @materialgirl01 @cherrycola27 @love2write2626 @averyhotchner @xoxabs88xox @nagygreta @bioodforbiood @violyn20 @abaker74 @misshoneypaper @callsign-joyride @auroraboreallisfine @thedroneranger @rosewritesitout @nobody7102 @bradleybeachbabe @wildxwidow @cm27078 @caitsymichelle13 @whisperofsong @bonitanightmxres @maverooster @mizzzpink @khaylin27 @shawnsblue @shelbycillian @sexualparkour @thenewdaysalreadyhere @fandom-princess-forevermore @double-j @momc95 @buxkybarnez @paige-alexandra-may @coffeebooksandfandom @86laura11 @some-lovely-day @ohemgeewhat @itsmytimetoodream @emmaelix @springholland @atarmychick007 @okiegirl24 @i3k2ts @gassyandsassy1 @happierbelle @celestialeviereads @kandierteveilchen

TAG LIST IS FULL DO NOT ASK TO BE TAGGED

note: as of right now, there's only ONE chapter left and I'm sad

[sanctum-of-ramshackle]

🦈Rocking The Boat🩸

[Synopsis]: Azul offered MC/Yuu to perform a gif at the Monstro Lounge and let them choose what kind of performance they would do. Except he didn’t console with them as the Octo-schemer learned too late.

[Gender Neutral Reader]

[WARNING]: Foul language in the song and best advise to lower your volume when listening to the song.

[A/N]: This is one of my favorite songs from Ice Nine Kills when I first listened to their album, “The Silver Scream.” I highly recommend to lower your volume settings since the song can be loud in some parts and wouldn’t want to damage your ears.

[Ice Nine Kills - Rocking The Boat (ft. Jeremy Schwartz)]

[Monstro Lounge]

MC/Yuu: Are you sure you want me to perform?

Azul: Of course! You must have songs from your world many never heard of until now. It should bring more customers in.

MC/Yuu: Alright, but fair warning: it can get loud. Best to give a disclaimer if there’s anyone who may be sensitive to hearing and flashing lights. We also need a heads-up to any Mer-shark people who are present during the show.

Azul: Why would you need to add that?

MC/Yuu: You’ll see.

[8:30 p.m.]

Jade: Evening everyone. Tonight will be a grand show starring The Prefect from the Ramshackle Dorm. Before we start the special night, there will be warnings of high volumes and flashy light effects. We may also warn Mer-Shark civilians of the show.

Mer-Shark People in the audience: Why would they warn us?

Jade: They informed me it is a song about a great white shark that kills people.

Mer-Shark People: Oooh yeah.

Jade: Now, let the show begin.

[The lights dimmed and smoke effects cover the stage. Then reveals MC/Yuu, with a microphone in hand and inhales…]

MC/Yuu:

SHARK!!!!

Coast guard, this is the Orca. Do you read me?

Four and a half miles due east of Amity Island

This is an official distress call, over

We all know a place

That appears so sublime

But if you dive a little deeper

You'll hit the real bottom line

The head of the town is out there flashing his teeth

A telltale sign about to surface

That there's a monster lurking underneath

They're thrashing around but found

They can't contain the leak

'Cause I've got a fish to fry

That's feeding on the weak

So cast a line for every life they took

It's time to set the-

Lilia, as the supporting lines: Hook!

We're all just floating in a shallow grave

Lilia: Buoyed by the blood of the masses

They'd rather sell out that instead of save

We're all so starving that we've taken the bait

Lilia: You think we would've learned from the past

That the predator will soon become-

Lilia: The prey!

We all know a place

Where the calm flees at night (night, night)

And safe is just a shadow

So we swim towards the light

If this voyage of valor

Put us on deck for death

We'll compare scars with each other

Until our very last breath

Lilia: Yeah!

They're thrashing around but found

They can't contain the leak

'Cause I've got a fish to fry

That's feeding on the weak

So reel it in with every trick in the book

It's time to set the-

Lilia: Hook!

We're all just floating in a shallow grave

Lilia: Buoyed by the blood of the masses

They'd rather sell out that instead of save

We're all so starving that we've taken the bait

Lilia: You think we would've learned from the past

That the predator will soon become-

Lilia: The prey!

Coastguard, this is the Orca again

We need you out here now

The boat is under attack, it's a great white, over

Roger that, ETA fifteen minutes, over

In fifteen minutes we'll be fucking shark bait

Last chance to make amends

Lilia: So try to stay afloat

With sharks like you among us

Lilia: We'll need a bigger boat

Sold us down the river

Lilia: So the rich could stay rich

But now you've been caught

Lilia: So smile…

You son of a bitch

Sinking with the burning embers

Should be any sign of doubt

That this tale will be remembered

And the tide will forever flush them out

We're all just floating in a shallow grave

Lilia: Buoyed by the blood of the masses

They'd rather sell out that instead of save

We're all so starving that we've taken the bait

Lilia: You think we would've learned from the past

That the predator will soon become-

Lilia: The prey!

[After the song was finished, the audience applauded and whistled.]

[After the show]

Azul: Prefect, that was…

Floyd: AWESOME! Shrimpy surprised everyone tonight.

MC/Yuu: Thanks, but you can compliment Lilia for his vocals.. It wasn't easy screaming the parts and had to practice. It woke the Ghosts up because they thought a Banshee came by.

Azul: The song came from your world and based on a killer shark.

MC/Yuu: Yeah, from Steven Spielberg's movie "Jaws". I still get excited to watch parts where Bruce gets his victims in the water.

Azul: You scare me sometimes, Prefect. You really do.

✨[Reblogs helps creators and creates for more content]💫

[starrgaziinggg]

FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS | LEE MINHO

PART NINE -> epilogue (6k words)

navigation

"JEONGIN!"

There's moments in life when you're genuinely terrified. Like when you used to get called on from your scariest teacher with no clue what the answer to the question was. Or when you wake up in the middle of the night after hearing a loud noise and can't move a muscle for hours afterwards.

Now is one of those instances. You feel yourself practically jump out your skin when you hear Seungmin screech the younger boys name, taking your sunglasses off of your face instantly to catch a glimpse of the commotion.

How naive of you to expect a relaxing, stress relieving getaway with your friends. How naive indeed.

"You've crossed the line this time, kiddo," Seungmin seethes, traipsing round the decking in search of his target. "Where the hell is he?"

"Fuck me if I know," you say lazily, placing your sunglasses back on your face and settling yourself into your sun lounger again. You and Hyunjin had an ongoing competition to see who could get the best tan over the course of your week long holiday, and you'd be damned to waste precious sunbathing time whilst he was at the shops to get breakfast for everyone.

"Gross, don't say that," Seungmin grimaces, chucking you a bottle. "You're burning up, idiot."

You scoff, pulling your sunglasses off for the second time of the morning and dumping them beside you. "Am I really?"

"Yes," Seungmin responds, placing his hands on the railing that oversees the beach you were staying at, looking out to catch a glimpse of Jeongin before giving up and practically falling on top of the lounger beside you. "Unless the aim of the competition you've got with Hyunjin is to see who can look the most like a lobster by the end of the week, I'd lather up."

You sigh, picking up the bottle he'd handed you and rubbing the sunscreen into your arms and chest. "Why are you so mad at Jeongin, anyway?" You ask him, intrigued as to what had interrupted your morning detox. "And why did you think he'd be here?"

"He's a dumbass," Seungmin says, kicking his feet up on the sun lounger as if that explains anything. "And I thought he might be here since you're the only other person still at the resort."

"Everyone's gone?" You ask, closing the lid to the bottle and chucking it into the shade.

"Felix, Chan and Changbin went down to the sea front whilst Minho, Hyunjin and Jisung were at the shops. Jeongin must have gone with them," Seungmin explains, shaking his head. "I'm seriously going to kill him when I find him again."

"I swear if you don't explain what he's done, I'm taking your name off of the lease," you say, throwing him a side glance as you settle back into a comfortable position.

"You can't do that," he mocks, as if you would ever actually take his name off of the lease to your new apartment. You'd just signed it two weeks ago, with Hyunjin and Felix too. It had been stressful trying to find accommodation for your final year of uni, as you weren't entitled to on campus accommodation in fourth year. When Seungmin brought the idea of sharing an apartment close to campus with Hyunjin and Felix to you, it had been an obvious yes.

Sure, living with three boys was probably going to be a nightmare, but you'd just lived with Seungmin for a year and he'd practically kept you afloat, so no matter how messy Felix was or how late Hyunjin stayed up, you figured you could handle it.

"He left my flip flops outside in the scorching sun yesterday," he finally says, offering you an explanation. "I specifically told him not to, because I'd seen online that the brand can partially melt in extreme heat - and who would have guessed? I now have a pile of goo on the ground."

You can't stifle your laugh, giggling openly. It was just such a classic Jeongin move you'd come to realise. He was nothing short of a little shit when he wanted to be. "They can't be a very good brand if they melt in the sun."

Seungmin scoffs. "They weren't made for over 40°c heat. Plus, I may or may not have bought them from a dodgy website," he complains, though you know he's over exaggerating. You could put money on the fact his flip flops were only slightly damaged. "He knows exactly what he's done as well. He'd written an, 'I'm sorry, Seungmin' note right on top of the goo pile for me to wake up to this morning."

You laugh openly this time, shaking your head at your friends actions. "Unsurprising."

Seungmin hums. "Yeah, I'll get my revenge at some point," he assures you, turning to give you an evil grin. "He's gonna hate choosing me as a roommate for this trip, I swear."

The resort you were staying in abroad, found by Chan (of course, as the self proclaimed 'dad' of your friend group), had large apartment like rooms that joined together and allowed you a private stretch of gorgeous white sand beach. Each room had a balcony area overlooking the beach, which you were currently taking full advantage of.

"I thought you chose Jeongin as a roommate?" You ask, turning on your side to properly face your friend.

"Jeongin is the least gross out of everyone," Seungmin answers with a grimace. "Other than you, of course. But you're rooming with your lovey dovey -"

He doesn't get to finish his taunt, as the front door to your room flies open. "Honey, I'm home!" Minho shouts, walking through the slide doors onto the balcony. His flip flops patter against the decking before he flops down onto the edge of your sun lounger.

"You're not trying to steal my girlfriend, are you Seungmo?" Minho questions, tilting his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose.

"It wasn't funny the first time you said it, and it's still not funny now," Seungmin responds, making Minho chuckle. Since Minho had popped the big question a couple months ago, he hadn't shut up about you being his girlfriend. His friends, that had now easily become your best friends, were constantly telling him to shut up, especially Seungmin since he spent the most time with you.

"Boo hoo," Minho says lazily, moving himself on your lounger so he was nestled comfortably in between your legs.

"What did you get from the store?" You ask him as he lays his head on your chest.

"Some meat and stuff so we can have a barbecue tonight," he responds. "Snacks, alcohol - some tampons for you."

"TMI," Seungmin winces, though you knew he was only doing it for show in front of Minho. You'd spent a year living with him and he couldn't care less about your period.

"A woman's menstrual cycle is natural," Minho mocks, laughing when Seungmin puts his fingers in his ears.

"Shut up, Jesus," you groan. It was bad enough you'd had to go on holiday while you were at the end of your period, especially in a group of guys, but your boyfriend felt the need to show how 'cool' he was about it in front of your friends, which made him decidedly uncool.

"Anyway," Seungmin says, attempting to stray the conversation away from your menstrual cycle. "What's Hyunjin and Ji up to now?"

"Said they were dumping their shit in their room and meeting the other guys at the beach for the day," Minho explains, stretching his limbs as he looks up at you. "Thought we could join them?"

You him, nodding. "Yeah, sounds good. Seungmin?"

"I'll need to borrow a pair of your flip flops, Minho," he says, and you take that statement as a form of agreement. "Jeongin has decimated mine."

Minho chuckles, pulling himself up from off your chest to sit at the edge of your lounger again. "Fine by me. There's a spare pair sitting on top of my suitcase."

Seungmin grins, getting up to put on Minho's flip flops. "I'm gonna go get changed into swim shorts, I'll get you guys down there?"

"Aye aye, captain," Minho responds, shouting through as Seungmin walks out your room, leaving you and Minho alone on the balcony.

He bends down towards you, leaving a chaste kiss on your lips. "Hi."

You giggle at him, using your hand to shield your eyes from the sun as you look at him, pulling your knees up to your chest. "Hi. Thanks for the tampons, by the way. I forgot to ask for them."

"Yeah, I figured you'd forgotten," he replies lazily, tapping your knees with his fingers. "Not a problem for the best boyfriend ever."

You chuckle at him, shaking your head. Minho had voiced his concerns about not being able to be enough for you, as he'd never been in a proper relationship before, but you'd assured him you'd be able to work at it together. And here you were, happier than you'd been in a long time.

"You look pretty," Minho states outwardly, and you smile knowing he means it. You'd come to realise he didn't give out compliments easily, so when he did it made your heart melt. "Last I saw you, you were a zombie in bed."

"Yeah, well, we were up late last night," you say, which makes Minho snicker. You whack him on the arm. "Don't be crude."

"Says you!" He laughs, grabbing your hand to stop you from whacking him again. You take a second to eye him up - shirtless, in just a pair of swim shorts and flip flops, you thought about how lucky you were that your boyfriend was perhaps the hottest man on the planet.

"Stop eye fucking me," he says slyly, narrowing his eyes at you.

"I'm not eye fucking you," you counter, crossing your arms. That turns out to be a mistake, when Minho's eyes go straight to your boobs.

"You know," he starts lowly, moving closer to you to push a strand of hair behind your ear. "We haven't countered period sex yet, but if you -"

You don't even need to whack him for that one, because he gets hit in the face with a blow up beach ball. Cackling, you catch a glimpse of the perpetrator.

"Get a room!" Hyunjin shouts, laughing maniacally as his bleach blonde hair flies out around him, and you just know Minho's going to kill him for that.

"We have a room!" Minho shouts back, throwing the beach ball back to Hyunjin which he catches, walking up to your balcony from the beach, shirtless and dripping wet. You assume he's already been in the sea.

"Maybe use it?" He says cheekily, and you roll your eyes. "We're gonna play volleyball, get your asses out here."

"I refuse," you say, throwing your hands up with wide eyes. "Not after last time."

Hyunjin giggles, remembering your game on the first day you'd arrived, and how your bikini top had come undone whilst you tried to save the ball. That was not one of your finest moments.

"You can be umpire," he says, tilting his head. You look towards Minho who shrugs, so you turn back to Hyunjin and nod.

"Fine," you say in defeat, standing up off your sun lounger and grabbing your phone and the keys to your room, so you can lock the front and sliding doors and jump the barrier of your balcony onto the beach.

The boys are all round the corner from your balcony, their towels laid out on the sand with some beach umbrellas propped up. Jeongin and Felix are chasing each other up and down the coastline with water guns, whilst Jisung and Seungmin are sprawled lazily out on their towels, taking refuge under the umbrellas from the blazing sunshine. Chan and Changbin are setting up the volleyball net.

As you, Hyunjin and Minho walk towards them, Felix and Jeongin abandon their fight, dropping the water guns by the boys feet.

"Didn't think you'd want to play after last time," Felix says breathlessly, giving you a cheeky grin when you hit him with your beach towel.

"We collectively agreed to never speak about it again," you seethed, listening to the other boys snickers. You choose to ignore Minho's smirk. "Besides, I'm reffing, and your teams already in the minus points."

"Why?" Felix groans, pouting at you.

"Attitude and bad behaviour. Ref rules," you throw back, placing your beach towel down and making yourself comfortable. Minho bends down to give you a peck, ignoring the guys cries of PDA and Jeongin covering his eyes before he calls team captain and the boys split up into two groups. Minho calls the second team captain and gets first pick, choosing Chan instantly.

They were unsurprisingly competitive, as you'd come to find out. If their beer pong tournaments were anything to go by, their volleyball games were even worse. You'd had to settle a multitude of arguments by half time alone - Jisung claiming Changbin was using foul play and Seungmin purposefully making the other team laugh to lose their attention.

Minho's team won in the end, which you could have seen coming from a mile away, since Chan practically carried any team he was on in terms of sports games. By sunset, half the guys had left to shower and the other half were setting up the barbecue, leaving you and Minho alone by the beachfront.

You watch the tide slowly make its way in and out again, the sound calming as Minho lay reading beside you. He's motionless, save from the periodic turn of the page of his book and his thumb swiping over your thigh when he found a comfortable position to hold his book with one hand.

The sun was slowly starting to set, the orange and pink hues of the sky mixing together like paint on a palette. When Minho turns the page to his book again, you pull your sunglasses off of the bridge of your nose to study him.

"What you reading?" You ask him, and he seems to finish the last sentence before looking over to you.

"A book," he says slyly, keeping his thumb in the middle of it but closing it over to look at you. He probs himself up on one arm.

"Oh yeah? Though it was an oven mitt," you reply sarcastically, rolling your eyes.

Minho raises an eyebrow at you. "Oven mitt?"

"First thing I thought of," you shrug, lowering yourself so that your lying flat on your back, closer to him. He looks down at you with a half smile. "But really, what book is it?"

Your boyfriend rolls his eyes as one hand pushes his dusty brown hair out his face, turning the cover of his book around to show you.

"How to deal with rude people with a smile," you read the title aloud as your eyes scan the front cover. "Is this a step by step guide?"

Minho chuckles, shaking his head as he pretends to snatch the book away from you. "No - if you must know, it's one of my favourites, and I'm rereading it and annotating it so I can give it to you."

You blink a couple times at his words, not really comprehending what he was saying. "You're going to gift it to me after you've annotated it?"

"Yeah," he replies, and you watch his ears tinge red - his tell. "After everything that happened with your ex and Sooyun, I just...I dunno. I read this when I needed to, and I thought you could benefit from it as well."

Minho will never let you live it down if you cry in front of him about this, claiming his superiority from his heartfelt gift, so you force a brave face. A smile comes naturally to you at the kind gesture.

"I love you so much, did you know," you say easily, shaking your head almost in disbelief. Minho had opened up to you more than you'd ever thought he would after making your relationship official. He told you about his family; his parents who he loved but did not spend a lot of time with due to them frowning upon his decision to drop his medical degree to pursue dance, how his cats meant everything to him and more...

This just felt as though he was sharing another little part of himself with you.

"What about you, then?" He says, unable to take the compliment without getting somewhat flustered as per usual. "You were reading something earlier in the week."

You hum, turning and digging the book out of your beach bag. You gently throw it onto his lap, watching as he inspects it like you had done his before handing it back to you.

"A poem book?" He says curiously. "'A mouthful of forevers'. Any good?"

"I love it. I've never been a big poem fan but this book...I dunno, her poems really speak to me."

"Okay you freak, read me one," he says blatantly, lying down flat on his back like you and crossing his arms, staring into the sky. He turns to you when you don't reply to him. "Please?"

You choose to ignore his shit eating grin when you open to one of the pages in the book you had dog eared.

"Love Poems, by Clementine Von Radics," you start with a huff, already feeling your tummy flutter under your boyfriends smirk and watchful eye. "I want to kiss you. Like big, fat kisses. Or angels. Or stars. Or something. I don't know. Love poems never make sense to me."

You pause for a second to catch your breath and sneak a peak at Minho as you do, and he's carefully watching you - a serious expression on his features as he nods at you for you to continue.

"Poets say things like Your teeth are flowers or Your eyes are miracles. But you aren't miracles. Or flowers. You are some sweet boy with a good smile and a shaky heart. Come kiss me. I'm in love with the miracle of your body—beside my body."

Minho stays quiet for a second, contemplating your words, and you can't help but feel sheepish.

"I like it because it reminds me of you," you say, although Minho's one of the smartest people you've ever met and you'd be damned if he hadn't already guessed that. "It's like - humans are never supposed to be these amazing, wondrous, beings. But you're you, and even though you will never be this unrealistic perfected poet concoction of a man, you have already shown me what perfect feels like. Because, I guess to me, perfect is good and bad things coexisting in this one little life with you."

There's not another second to babble on, because Minho's easily caught your lips with his own after moving swiftly so that he hovers over the top of you. He keeps himself propped up on an arm beside your head as he depends the kiss slightly before pulling away.

His hair tickles your forehead as he breathes, shaking his head at you. "You know I love you too, right?" He says lowly, dark eyes shifting between your own. "I don't say it that often, but I am so absolutely in love with you and sometimes I just have to sit with my thoughts because I have never known what I have done to deserve you."

His deep words make your heart fill and your grin crack. You figure you must be looking at him maniacally, but you don't care - not when you lowers his head to kiss you again, the feeling one that you will never take for granted. After these months you still feel the same butterflies you felt after that very first time.

"You're sooo in love with me," you can't help but to tease when he pulls away again, watching when he shakes his head with a chuckle. "You're practically on your knees for me."

"I could be later, if you quit acting like a brat in the middle of our nice moments," he says, tilting his head and placing a quick kiss to the tip of your nose. "Now, come on, cause -"

The distraction of Hyunjin and Jeongin making sex noises and kissy faces is one that you surprisingly enjoy, since it firstly means that Minho doesn't notice the way your cheeks are the same colour as your sunburn and secondly, that dinner must be ready. You successfully rope Jeongin into helping you pack up the beach stuff when Minho ends up in the midst of a physical fight with Hyunjin, the two men hollering and rolling around on the sand like children.

Whatever the issue was, you could assume Hyunjin deserved it. The two of them had been ridiculously close recently, after having talked out all their issues back when they weren't on the best of terms. You didn't know if it was just because you and Hyunjin were so close or because they'd finally had a deep discussion together, but they'd been practically inseparable the whole holiday.

Not that you are complaining - you'd take them clinging to each other over the two of them avoiding each other like the plague any day of the week.

"You and Minho hyung are cute," Jeongin goads as he folds Minho's towel, showing you his dimples and widening his eyes. "Kind of gross, but mostly cute."

You take the towel from him and shove it into your back, grabbing your water bottle and waiting for Jeongin to pick up Minho's water bottle before the two of you head towards your bedroom's balcony. "You think?"

He hums, nodding. "Everyone's been saying it all holiday. Especially Hyunjin, which is so weird. To think a couple months ago he was like your relationship's number one enemy is laughable."

You can't help but roll your eyes with a smile at the memory. "He was such a pain in the ass back then, huh?"

"Right?" Jeongin agrees, giving you a hand to help you climb over your balcony decking's railings when you reach it. "I don't know who was a bigger clock block, him or Felix."

He laughs with you when you can't help but to crack up, remembering that one time Minho was helping you dance in the practice rooms and Felix came in at the worst possible time, or when you and Minho were finally opening up to each other and Hyunjin just had to spread a rumour that wasn't true.

"Is it weird that I wouldn't change any of it?" You ask the younger boy, thanking him when he hands you the water bottle.

"Nah," he agrees, his freshly dyed bleach blonde hair (that he'd tried and failed to convince everyone he wasn't copying Hyunjin) forming waves from the sea water he hadn't washed out yet. "It's one hell of a story."

The distant calls for you both to hurry up remind you that you've got food waiting, so you lock your bedroom door and head out back again. By the time you round the corner, you spot the boys in a large circle - your boyfriend in charge of grilling the meat, whilst Felix is preparing what looks like bibimbap. Changbin's also putting together burger buns and salad as Jisung hands out the drinks Seungmin's pouring. Chan seems to be in charge of the whole orchestration, making sure everyone gets a bit of all the foods on their plate.

"You are a grand help," you say snidely to Hyunjin, the only one of them not helping, as he sprawls lazily on a deck chair by the unlit fire pit.

"I was sworn off preparations," he responds, not bothering to look at you. "I'm the visual."

Jeongin shares a look with you as you scoff, getting stuck in to helping when Chan starts handing you plates of food to place on people's seats. "You need a reality check."

"Chan?" He calls lazily.

"He's the visual," Chan shrugs as he hands you another plate, the other guys snickering. "Plus, Minho beat him up earlier."

"What was that even about?" You ask, wanting to be kept in the loop. Your boyfriend catches your eye, rolling his own in response. It's almost a shame to see he's put a t-shirt on, but the way he's rolled the sleeves up over his biceps and his cheeks flushed pink from the heat of the barbecue make you think otherwise.

Since Minho isn't giving you an answer, you turn to Hyunjin, who only gives you a smirk. He pulls his arms up by his head, resting against them. "I only told him that public sex on the beach is actually a crime, and nobody wants to see his massive -"

He doesn't get another word out, after getting hit in the face from a flying beef burger. Jeongin cracks up beside you, and you can't stifle your laugh either, especially when Chan starts shouting.

"We only have so much of them to go around!" He frets, counting out the food items with his fingers. "Stop acting like a child, Minho. Your girlfriends right there."

Minho waves at you with a grin, and you shake your head at him. Seungmin and Jisung finish pouring the drinks, making the rounds and placing them in the cup holders of each chair.

"She's just as bad as him," Seungmin scoffs, picking up a plate full of food and taking a seat beside you. "You know she made me pick out paint samples with her last week? Guess what colour she's painting her bedroom."

Your boyfriend raises you an eyebrow as he finishes passing out the rest of the meat and turns off the barbecue. It must have slipped your mind to inform him of your plans for your bedroom in the new apartment; you were still renting, but the landlord was extremely lenient and allowed you to paint wherever you wanted as long as the apartment looked how did did before you arrived when you eventually leave.

"She wants the ceiling to be pink," Seungmin groans, sending a wave of laughter through your friends. Sometimes being the only girl who regularly hung out with them sucked, and you made a mental note to at least attempt to find another female friend - preferably one who wouldn't steal your boyfriend.

"The ceiling? How are you even gonna reach that, shorty," Changbin laughs, ruffling your hair with his free hand before plonking himself in a seat next to Hyunjin, the rest of the chairs filling up pretty quickly. Minho takes the spare seat beside you, of course.

"I have a vision," you mumble inwardly, ignoring Minho's pout about how cute you were.

You had to admit, Minho's food was delicious - as was Felix's bibimbap, which wasn't to be unexpected. One of your favourite thing's about Minho was his dedication to making food for everyone, one of his love languages- though he'd never admit it out loud.

All of you eat well, chatting together about anything and everything. Hyunjin giving Felix extras from his plate when Felix had finished, the younger boy grinning at him in delight. Changbin and Chan engaging in an arm wrestle, in with Changbin dominates, of course. Jisung, Seungmin and Jeongin having a beer downing competition, spluttering with laughter when Jisung almost chokes on the drink. Minho, a hand on your thigh, watching his friends eat the food he'd made for them in contempt - all of it fills your heart.

To think how miserable you had been, in a relationship you had tried so hard to keep afloat, and a friendship that ended in distrust - how different your life was now was insane.

Hyunjin distracts you from your thoughts, calling your name as he stands up. "Yo, come help me get the ice creams from my room."

You roll your eyes at his request, but inevitably agree, standing up and narrowing your eyes at your boyfriend who slaps your ass as you do so.

"Come on lazy lumps," Hyunjin taunts, calling you as you run to catch up with him walking towards his room. "These ice creams won't get themselves."

"Alright, alright," you sigh, following him into his room and taking a bundle of ice creams he pulls out the freezer. "You're so clingy recently."

He scoffs, making a disgusted face at you. "I'm not clingy," he claims, whilst you tilt your head at him. He closes the freezer with the ice cream packets in his arms, sighing. "Okay, maybe I'm a bit clingy, but you can't blame me. There was a point I thought you and Minho would never talk to me again."

"You're so dramatic," you chuckle, as the two of you walk out the room and back towards your friends. "We've been over this a million times - I don't blame you for anything, and you'd never get rid of me or Minho that easily."

"I know, I know," he says, and you notice his faint smile. The sand gets in between your toes as you walk, so you take your flip flops off to walk barefoot. "I'm just happy about how everything's turned out. Don't tell Minho I said this, but the two of you have never been happier now that you're with each other, and I was a little bitch to think otherwise."

You laugh openly at his compliment, shoving his shoulder fondly as you reach your friends, handing out the ice cream packets.

"You're not trying to get with my girl, are you Hyun?" Minho comments cheekily, which everyone collectively groans at.

"Nobody is trying to steal your girlfriend, dickwad. That joke has been used and abused," Changbin whines, which your boyfriend grins at, as if this was the desired affect of his idiotic comment. Hyunjin only sticks his tongue out at him.

"Says the one that was all over her that first night at the bar," Minho jabs back, which Changbin just smirks at.

"We get it! I'm hot!" You say confidently, scrunching up your nose when Seungmin chucks a rolled up napkin at your face. "And anyway, Changbin's taken now."

Changbin widens his eyes at you as the other boys turn to him in shock because, oh shit, that was a secret you were not supposed to share. There's a chorus of irritated yelling forced towards Changbin, and he looks at you in despair.

"You have a girlfriend?" Felix shouts, standing up and pointing at Changbin. You shoot him a sorry glance as he waves his hands.

"Yes! Okay, it's a very recent thing," he groans. "And you! You were not supposed to tell them!"

You shrug your shoulders apologetically, secretly enjoying the chaos. Minho turns to you, an intrigued smirk on his face.

"And how did you know before any of us?" He asks, no distaste in his tone, just genuine intrigue. One of your favourite things about Minho was how he could not care less about your friendships with the guys, something your ex was almost always complaining about. Minho relished in the fact you got along so well with all his friends.

"I went by Changbin's place to get him to help me fix my broken bedside table for the new place, and she called him while I was over, so it was really only a coincidence," you explain with your hands up.

"Why did you need Changbin's help?" Hyunjin questions. "Am I not good enough?"

"You don't even own a toolbox, Hyun," you say, deadpan, turning to Minho. "And you were away working, so don't start."

"I know, I don't care," he says with a grin, and you laugh at how Hyunjin is more annoyed than Minho. Minho and you had trust and he didn't mind you spending time with others, but Hyunjin was a dramatic baby whenever he wasn't involved. Realistically he just had a bad case of FOMO.

"Anyway," Chan claps, steering the conversation in a different direction. "We're all happy for you Binnie, right guys?"

There's a collective mumble of agreement which you laugh at, watching Changbin get up off of his chair. "On that note, I'm gonna call said girlfriend before the time difference gets too ridiculous. Peace out sluts."

You shake your head at him with a smile, watching as he bounds along the sand towards his room.

"That's it," Jeongin whines. "We've lost another one."

"You're just jealous since you're single," Jisung prods the younger boy, which he shrugs at.

"Yeah," he sighs. "So real."

You drown out the guys conversation, discussing relationships and what not, as you pull out your phone, scrolling your instagram feed. A photo Seungmin posted of you, Felix and Hyunjin pops up - the two boys cracking dumb poses as you laugh at them. You like the photo with a smile, continuing your scroll. The next photo that arises is of Sooyun - a ring adorned on her finger.

Her and Doha had broken up not long after she'd come to your dorm. You'd spoken to her a couple times since then when you'd bumped into each other on campus, though your friendship had never resumed. It was for the best, to stay civil yet cut ties, because she'd hurt you badly and you'd never have trust for her again.

Yet, you were happy for her. She'd gotten into a relationship with one of her family friends from your hometown a couple months after her and Doha had broken up. They'd grown up together, and you'd always suspected they'd end up with each other. You weren't surprised when you heard they were together, and after a year they'd gotten engaged. She beamed in the photo, her fiancé looking at her adoringly as she held up her hand for the camera.

You like the photo, commenting 'congrats!' before showing the photo to Minho. He smiles, knowing you were over the drama and genuinely happy for your friend.

"Maybe it's a thing," he says, tapping your knee with his fingers absentmindedly. "After someone ends their relationship with Doha, they find the love of their life."

You shake your head at him with a smile, knowing he was probably right. The last you'd heard of Doha, he'd dropped out of university and was reputably known as a cheater in your area. Luckily, you hadn't seen him since you'd broken up with him, confirming the theory that when someone isn't meant to be in your life, you'll never see them again.

"I'm fucking exhausted," Jisung yawns, stretching out his limbs. "Should we call it a night, since we're up early to swim with dolphins tomorrow?"

Hyunjin nods, standing up. "Yeah, agreed. Felix, don't you dare let me sleep in. I can't wait to swim with dolphins!"

Felix rolls his eyes, joining Hyunjin as the two of them wave before heading off to their room. Chan starts getting all of your things together as the rest of you help, folding up the chairs and taking all your rubbish from the beach. You all say goodnight to each other as you part ways, you and Minho heading back to your room.

"I love it here," you say as soon as you close the sliding doors, locking them for the night and staring out at the view. "I never want to leave. It's like paradise."

"You know," Minho says, coming up behind you and wrapping his arms round your torso. "I was thinking, after you finish your degree next year, would you want to go travelling with me for a bit? By then I'll have a fair amount of money saved, so we could go wherever you want before you settle down to work."

"Really?" You ask, turning in his embrace to blink up at him. "You want to?"

"Of course. I've thought about it for a while. It would be fun, just the two of us, exploring."

You grin, kissing him on the lips. "I'd do anything and go anywhere as long as I'm with you, you know that, right?"

He chuckles, moving a strand of hair behind your ear. "And I you. Who would have thought friends with benefits could end up like this?"

You playfully hit his shoulder before pulling him into a hug, letting him wrap his arms around you.

"Who would have thought," you agree, sighing into his embrace and thanking the universe for letting your friends with benefits situation turn into the most beautiful love.

And friends with benefits, after a year, is fully complete. I hope you all enjoyed the epilogue, even though you had to wait forever for it. This story will always have a special place in my heart - it’s the reason so many of you read my fics and found my account. Thankyou always for the interactions on this series, love always 🫶🏻🫶🏻

taglist

@skzgallll @tangerminie @nepytune @jeyelleohe @judeduartewannabe @endzii23 @vixensss @odhnlzl101 @yoonguurt @trashieforchannie @xcookiemonsteer @kingsoowolves @woahsehun @laylasbunbunny @sahazzy @hyukastuffies @multifandomtrash-dree @sherlockholmes08 @iam2out @jisungxident @amnmich @linoots @galaxleeknow @kpopwh0r3 @fixation-dump @mal-lunar-28 @zerefdragn33l @i8rsie @strayluvr @yoontaethings @lomllino @biribarabiribbaem @downbadreading @where-is-innie @djeniryuu @lethallyprotected

[neverchecking]

NSFW alphabet for Legend, Hyrule, & Four? If you’re too busy, you don’t have to do them, I’ve just been 🤤since the Twilight alphabet.

Nonny, you did nothing wrong, but next time just check on my request status. I try to keep my requests at a set number so I can get through them in an orderly fashion.

Also you lucky ducks get 2 tonight after getting nothing from me for like a month nogng

Legend's -> Here!

Four's -> Here!

Anyway. MDNI! 18+

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

He's a KING at aftercare. He's so soft and caring, and his touches are absolutely featherlight. Because he just wants to praise and thank you for allowing him the opportunity of a lifetime. It's so precious to him and he wants to make sure you know it to.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

On his partner? Their hands. He loves kissing your palms and your fingers, and feeling them brush against his cheeks as you tell him all about how good he feels. Even just holding your hand in his as you clench around him crying out his name makes every part of him buzz.

On himself? It's hard to say because it's proven that he doesn't have a lot of self confidence, but probably his mouth. Which sounds weird, but talking has saved his life, smiling has gotten him out of sticky situations, and he knows you love the absolute completion he can bring you to with it. He loves that you can use that part of him so freely without it failing you because he will put his mouth to work. Trust me.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

Maybe its the fae in him but he LOVES cumming all over you. He love, love, loves painting your skin a pretty white and streaking it in a reminder that your his. Loves dragging his fingers through it just to smear it all over your belly, to really sell the point you know?

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He loves seeing you in jewelry. Any jewelry, but especially long necklaces. just watching them bounce and curl with every thrust has his eyes widening as he watches every chain link shift. Especially if there's a heavy jewel front and center. Just seeing you decked in rings, bracelets, necklaces and crowns? Oh, he loves it.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

No one wants to hear it, but I believe Hyrule fuckkked. Like in his world, money is scarce, so thanks had to have been given another way. Sex was probably one of those ways. It was on the downlow and no one ever talked about it, but he probably fucked. That being said, when it comes to you, where it comes with feelings, you would think he's a virgin. It takes some time for him to really settle and put his experience to good use.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Sixty-nine. He loves showing you his absolute devotion to your entire being while letting you do whatever you wish to him. He knows you like to return the favor even if he personally thinks thats silly. This lets him try to distract you enough while also letting you tire yourself out enough he can do whatever he wishes with you <3

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

He can do few good laughs. Like Four, if it helps loosen you up he's all for it. Probably even instigates a few jokes because he loves hearing you laugh. Soft sex with Hyrule is probably full of giggles because he just loves you so much.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Not. Groomed. At ALL. It's bushy and it's messy but its so him you can't even be mad because look at that face and tell me you can be mad at him. I certainly can't. It's the same brown as the hair on is head and just as curly, so...good luck with that.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

Oh he's so romantic, because he's SO used to those quick pump and dumbs, he loves showing and proving that you aren't like everyone else. You are someone he so inherently wants to spend the rest of his life with and he never wants you to doubt that for a second. And Hyrule, lemme tell you bc he told me personally, can WAX POETRY like you wouldn't believe.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

He was told its a sin so never actually did it until he lost his faith in Hylia. Then he touched himself, cried, then finished the job. And from then on it was pretty rare because, like I said, sex wasn't rare to him. Of course, after meeting you that doesn't change. But instead of it being a question of what's the point it turns into why waste it? Why waste it on his hand when he can use it to paint your ass a perfect shade of creamy white.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Probably has a bit of a food kink, honestly. Like, fruits and syrups dripping all over your body for him to lick off appeases the fairy side and gives him the sugar for energy. Win-win for him.

Also probably loves having his hair pulled. I don't know if that's a kink, but its something I felt compelled to share.

Had to come back to add this, but Free use. Absolutely loves when you just pin him down and ride him like he's little more than a toy for you to use.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Anywhere. He is down for anywhere at anytime. He's is nothing more than a lowly peasant for you to use. He is there to sing your gospel and preach your prayers. If you want him to eat you out in the middle of the street with people watching, he's already on his fucking knees.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Anything. Like I said. Anything just to show you how much he fucking loves you okay? He can't have you thinking he's gonna run off because losing you would absolutely destroy him. And he just cannot risk it. Like after a fight? That probably gets him going the most because he thinks he's fighting some invisible chain thats breaking and going to pull you away from him.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

He would never dream of calling you names. You are his divinity and he is going to fucking adore you and make sure you know it. The thought of ever demeaning you does something to him that makes him all pouty and upset because why would you ever want to think about yourself like that? He loves you so much and he wants you to love yourself just as much.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

Giving. you had to know this was coming (heh, cumming). Because as I've shown, hyrule is a worshipper. And he would love to fucking worship you every chance he gets. Fuck he would spend hours giving your oral because it's just so nice for him.

A oneshot idea I've been throwing around is Reader being a Mafia! boss and sitting there, Hyrule on a leash and just having at 'er because he believes it's his life purpose to be their sex toy while their doing business. Just thought yall should know.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Anyway you want it, but he gets so sex drunk it only lasts so long before falling to his default fast and rough because he just can't get enough.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

not his favorite, but he'll do it. Again, he just wants to please you. So if you want a quick romp in the closet, his belt is already off. Of course, he'll use later to take his time ensuring that you know quick isn't his go to, not anymore, and defiantly not with you.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

He's down. It brings excitement and he does like that little rush adrenaline. Plus it keeps you interested which is a bonus. It makes you happy and that's all he needs.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

So much Stamina. He is so used to going, going and going, so he has the energy for DAYS. He is so ready and willing, whatever you want he's giving. If you're not done, neither is he. Round after round, he is still hard ready to go.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

Yes and no? So, Hyrule is half fairy which means he has some magical properties about him. I imagine his cum probably has a bit of an aphrodisiac quality to it. So that's his own little toy. other than that, I could see him liking beads and just pulling them out. One by one.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Doesn't. Like I've said, he loves devoting himself to you. Teasing just takes away from that. And he can't have that! He needs to prove that you made the right choice fucking him because there are better options (In his opinion-- which is wrong). He doesn't want to lose you because of teasing when he could've spent that time making you see stars.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

He's suck a pretty moaner. He has a perfect tone and pitch and it's just such a delight to hear. He tries to bite his lip because he'd much rather hear you, but he can't help but whine and whimper just because it all feels so so so good.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

His cum? Probably tastes sweet. Because he's half-fairy, he needs a lot of things like sugar water, fruit, candys, sweets, which you would think would make it taste bad right? Nope. It actually tastes sweet. Like it's palatable. Which is why we all wanna suck his dick so badly. Which is WHY 69 is such a good position for him.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

Hyrule has a pretty dick and I will go down with this. Like it's no bitchbreaker, but you just wanna suck it because of how pretty it is. Like a gorgeous red at the tip with soft skin and perfect balls just waiting to be fondled. He's packing pretty average, 5 or so inches, but that doesn't even matter because his dick is just so pretty.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Above average I'd say. It's not so much about the sex for him though, it's about the intimacy and proving his devotion to you. And he loves doing it. Loves reminding you just how much he loves you and wants to spend the rest of his life with you <3

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Knocked tf out. After aftercare is complete and he knows you're okay for the night, he gone. Sorry babes, fairy needs time to recharge and replenish his battery so he can devote his entire being to you all over again tomorrow <3

[dragon-kazansky]

Spirit of the sea

Izzy Hands x Reader (GN)

You were a member of Blackbeard's crew long ago. Then you became a ghost story. Izzy Hands only sees you in his dreams these days, until he sees you for real when investigating Stede Bonnet. This sets him on a rollercoaster of emotions between you and what his captain is doing.

{Masterlist}

{Previous Chapter} - {Next Chapter}

Warnings: Implied NSFW. Goodbye toe. Hello Kraken.

Edward's heart is broken. Stede, you bitch (affectionately), come get your boyfriend!

Season 2 chapters coming next week!!!

Chapter Nine - Changing of the tides

♡♡♡

Both of you free from mutiny, Izzy goes on to see to his captain. He was elevated to see Edward back onboard. He should have known he would escape even the King.

You made the crew get to work. They did so no questions asked.

You wait for Izzy by the captain's door. When it opens he steps out, he closes the door behind him and turns to you.

"Well?" You ask softly.

"He's, uh... yeah, he's okay."

You look at him a bit more expectantly.

"He's depressed, but he should be okay in a few days..."

"Izzy."

"Apparently he was going to escape with Bonnet and go to China, but Bonnet never showed up. Ed waited all night."

"Shit..."

"You know, I didn't expect that from Bonnet." Izzy sighs.

"How are you?" You ask.

"Fine."

"Izzy..."

"I'm fine. Really. I'm just glad to still be onboard and... and that you're okay too."

You smile at him.

"I'm still trying to accept what you were going to do."

"Izzy, I'm not letting you leave me again."

Izzy watches your face closely as he takes a step forward. He goes to take one of your hands, leaning in a little, but he pulls back when loud crying from the captain's room can be heard.

You both sigh.

♡♡♡

You sit on deck whittling away on a barrel. The crew are mostly pottering about. The ship was as ship shape as could be. Nothing put if place, a clean deck, tidy rigging, polished canons.

Izzy exits the captain's cabin and stands in front of the crew, a cup in his hand.

"Gentlemen! Blackbeard is in fine spirits this morning, and he sends... his regards."

Izzy and yourself had agreed to cover up Edward's depression as much as possible from the crew. There was only so much you could deal with while Edward was in this state.

"He's still a... tad under the weather, but he will be back amongst us soon."

"So, he's sick, but doing well... is the news?" Franchise asks.

"Exactly, yes! And, um, in the meantime, maybe, you could, you know, polish things, or swab the deck." Izzy tried suggesting.

"We already polished twice today." The Swede says.

"Aye, the deck's as swabbed as she gets," Buttons adds in.

Izzy takes a swing of his drink and then spits it out on the deck. "Well, you missed a spot. Have at it, chaps! Dismissed!"

Izzy turns to face you. You offer him a little smile. He sighs.

"Not you, Mr Spriggs." Izzy catches Lucius' arm as he goes to walk past him. "Blackbeard has requested your services. So, no matter what you see or hear, you do not breathe a word under pain of death. Understood?"

"Yeah," Lucius agrees, feeling less than comforted.

"Good. Fuck off."

Lucius walks over and Izzy takes a sip from his cup, looking back at you again. This time you sigh.

♡♡♡

You stand by Buttons who sails the ship. You're watching the horizon when Izzy comes up the steps.

"You got a minute?" He asks.

"Yeah."

You follow Izzy right to the back where you two cam chat quietly alone for a bit. You can see Izzy's tension building in his shoulders.

"How is he?"

"He's stopped crying."

Izzy keeps his eyes out at sea. His hands rest on the railing of the ship, but you can see his knuckles turning white.

"I need to tall some sense into him."

"Be careful, Izzy. I can't pinpoint Edward's emotions. He might lash out if we're not careful."

"Careful?" He chuckles dryly. "Blackbeard is still in there somewhere. I just need to get him out."

"Izzy..."

He turns to look at you. "I have dedicated my life to Blackbeard. My life," he hisses, "and I not about to make it all for nothing."

Izzy pushes off the railing of the ship and walks off. You watch him go.

♡♡♡

Standing on deck watching Ed sing was not what you expected to happen, but you are. Then again, Lucius did say he had been asked to write down some lyrics.

It wasn't the most cheerful of songs.

At least he was out of the cabin now, wearing one of Stede's old robes, but you'll overlook that.

Izzy is sitting next to you. His face full of confusion. You're not sure anyone here understood what was happening.

The crew awkwardly applaud his song.

"That's, uh, really great stuff, Ed." Wee John tells him.

"His name is Blackbeard, or Captain!" Izzy yells.

"Izzy, no, Izzy." Edward stands. "Actually, I do want to be called Edward from now on. And thank you, you guys. It's pretty difficult to lay yourself bare in front of others."

The conversation goes on about others expressing themselves. Buttons sings a note to express himself and Edward gets excited.

"The sheer amount of talent on this ship! Why are we even pirates?" Ed smiles. "You know what? We should have a talent show."

The crew get excited.

Izzy tenses again.

♡♡♡

You head down to Izzy's cabin and see him sitting there with his head in his hands. He had gone to have a word with Edward alone in his room.

After that strange occurrence in deck, Edward had seemed more lighthearted. More open. He had gone back into his room to clean up.

Izzy had taken his chance to have a word with him, showing him who Blackbeard was supposed to be.

Edward got angry, but Izzy was pleased. Blackbeard was still in there somewhere.

"You okay?"

Izzy looks up and sighs. "Fine."

"You gotta stop telling me that. I don't believe you, you know?"

He looks up at you. His eyes look a little tired. It's been a long day.

"Is it too much to want to go back to the way things were?"

You walk over to him and sit down on the bed beside him. Since Edward came back, Izzy had taken back his old cabin. You had returned to sleeping with the crew, but Izzy couldn't deny wanting you to stay.

"Not exactly. I know where you're coming from, I do. But I also know that Stede made him very happy. Doesn't everyone have the right to be happy?"

"Yeah, but what I mean is, we're pirates. We don't get that kind of happiness. We do what pirates should do."

"But can't have love?"

"You can't have both," he says.

You frown as you gaze at the end of your boots. "What of you can?"

Izzy looks at you. You left your head and hold out your hand. Izzy drops his gaze to your palm and finds himself frozen for a moment.

A wooden sparrow.

"You remade it."

"Yeah..."

Izzy reaches out slowly and takes it from you, his fingers gently tickling your palm. He handles the sparrow with care. This one is a little smaller than the last, but it's still as good as the other one.

"Thank you," he whispers.

You look at him. His eyes are still on the sparrow in his hand, but his head is facing to enough to really look him over.

"Izzy, I care about you."

He lifts his eyes to meet yours.

"I always cared about you. Before I became a ghost story, during the entire 6 years I was apart from you, and even now after everything."

A pause. Only the sound of his breathing.

"Izzy, what if we can still be pirates and love someone? Wouldn't you want to know what that feels like? To have what they did?"

He swallows, the muscles in his neck moving under collar.

"I don't want to be weak," he says quietly.

"Who said it would make you weak?"

"Look at fucking Edward."

"You're not Edward. You're Izzy Hands. And I'm not Stede Bonnet."

You can see the way Izzy slightly shudders.

"Izzy, I've been in love with you for years. Figured it didn't mean much in this lifestyle, but I'm taking my chance. I never left you on purpose before, and never plan to. I'm sticking around for as long as you will have me, and nothing about our lifestyle on this ship would change a God damn thing."

A shaky breath escapes past his lips.

"Izzy, if you feel even a slight bit love for me, please share it, because I don't want to go another day without knowing. And if you don't, tell me now. We can go back to how we were."

He shakes his head, eyes glossy, lips parting to day something. No words come out.

You want to reach out and hold him, but he moves first. His lips are on yours before you can even fully comprehend what's happening.

You kiss back eagerly, hands grabbing at anything they can. You pull him closer, needing Izzy Hands as physically close as possible.

Izzy can't let go.

All these years he's been waiting for a moment like this, and now it's here. Finally he has you in his arms. Your lips against his. Your fingers in his hair. Your flesh against his palm.

Never had he thought the day would come when he could have you like this. Those impossible dreams made reality.

Izzy Hands loves you.

You love Izzy Hands.

♡♡♡

Late that night. Izzy and yourself are curled up together in his bed, both naked and tangled in each others limbs. Love in it's moat intimate form between two lovers.

This was supposed to be the best night of his life so far. The day he got to kiss you, hold you, love you.

It all came crashing down.

He had pushed Edward just enough. Just enough to awaken the Kraken.

It was Izzy's gasping scream that woke you. Blackbeard hovered over him. You panicked and screamed as Izzy's little toe was shoved into his mouth. Blackbeard covered his jaw, forcing Izzy to eat it.

"Eat up. That's it. Don't forget to chew."

You cover your mouth, watching. Izzy does as he's told.

"Threaten me again, ever... I'll feed you the rest," Blackbeard states. "Understand?"

"Yes! Yes, Blackbeard. Yes." Izzy nods.

"OK. Clean yourself up and come find me. Much work to do."

Izzy nods.

"And you," Blackbeard looks at you. "Get out. Don't let me catch you with Izzy again."

Blackbeard leaves.

You stare at the door and then turn to Izzy. He loses his smile and rests his head back against the pillow.

Blood stains the bed.

♡♡♡

Everything that belonged to Stede Bonnet is thrown off the ship. The crew made to gather and dispose of everything.

Izzy hobbled around with the help of a cane, his foot bandaged up, and gave out orders. Blackbeard kept you close to his side.

"Blackbeard is himself, again." Izzy spoke proudly to the crew.

Yes, Blackbeard was back. But at the cost of everything else.

You watch Izzy make his way across the deck, yelling at the crew to hurry up. Blackbeard stands menacingly over them.

Your heart aches to hold Izzy again, but you cannot. No. Love is forbidden.

Pirates must be pirates.

♡♡♡

A majority of the crew from the Revenge were taken to a small island in the middle of nowhere, basically.

Frenchie and Jim were the only ones being kept behind. Blackbeard was recruiting for his new crew.

Izzy took them all out there under the impression that was where the talent shown was going to be held.

They fell for it.

Izzy returned to the ship.

You stood beside Blackbeard as he had Jim knocked out, and Frenchie came in.

"I heard you can sew."

Frenchie got the grasp of what was happening and nodded.

Things were falling into place.

♡♡♡

Blackbeard stood at the top of the ship, you on one side, Izzy on the other. It took everything in you not to look at him.

Izzy was in much the same predicament.

Blackbeard drew one of his guns from it's holster and pointed it at Frenchie. The new flag was raised.

Blackbeard was back.

If only Izzy had known. If only there had been a warning for what would happen once Blackbeard returned.

Maybe, just maybe, you'd be able to love each other properly like you wanted.

♡♡♡

@grippleback-galaxy - @askmarinaandothers - @godlikegallagher - @for-fuck-sake-im-alive - @whiskeyswriting - @lxsm2 - @bloody-bunni666 - @the-chocoholic-writer - @bugbugboy - @callmemana - @the-shenny-of-azkaban - @cool-ontherun-world -

[frostgears]

rules of engagement

Eight white diamonds in a line swept north over gray topography. Two more where they should not have been.

A monotone voice.

"This is Fulcrum Actual. Topaz Nine and Ten, you are trailing. Can you push any harder?"

"Ma'am, no, ma'am. Nine took a hit, jump jet damage, throttled down, I'm covering him, we're just running a little behind the pack, that's all."

"Topaz Nine, maximum remaining power on that next jump."

"Yes, ma'am…"

A crunch, audible over the link.

"Too short. Topaz Nine, ground and cover as best you can. Topaz Ten, throttle up to full, angle to your right, jump and aim to land on the shadowed side of the ridge at grid FA-68."

Overlapping chatter:

"Ma'am, I won't be able to cover Ten, leapfrog won't work…"

"Ma'am, I can't leave Nine behind…"

"Topaz Nine, ground and cover. Topaz Ten, to that ridge. Do you copy?"

"Copy."

"Copy."

Three red tracks converged on a white diamond.

"Topaz Nine, showing three inbound to you, forwarding fused sensor data, bearing 190, take the rightmost one first."

"Ma'am? Ten's on my left."

"Yes. Ten, you'll cover Nine as long as possible."

"And then what?"

"And then you'll cover yourself as long as possible."

A second arc of red tracks appeared. At least a dozen. Maybe more.

"Fulcrum Actual" took off her headset, rose from her chair, brushed black hair back past plugged link sockets unused by anything in the tactical room.

"I'm done here. Tac Two, take over, you should be able to handle the rest of the Topaz evac. Keep to the original dropship launch window and the original orbiter pickup window. Tac One, take a break. You didn't need me for this."

Fulcrum Tac One looked like she was about to throw up, but managed, with effort, to choke it down.

"Ma'am? I requested intervention because I thought you could get them out of there. What the fuck was that?"

Fulcrum's commander turned, not making eye contact. She tugged one sleeve of her sleep-rumpled fatigues back into position.

"The operation was already on the edge of contingency timing. Topaz Nine was dead the moment he took that hit. Topaz Ten was dead the moment he stayed behind to cover Nine. If you'd paged me earlier, I might have been able to use Nine better and kept Ten with the line."

"Ma'am, we could have gotten both of them out—"

The commander held up a hand.

"Most of Topaz was out of missiles; Three and Six were out of kinetics as well. Seven was developing a generator fault. You would not have been able to hold the evac site. As is, Topaz One thru Eight will be leaving on schedule. That was the best I could do with the mistakes that were already made."

"Ma'am, that's doll logic!"

The shout cut through the tactical room chatter. Chairs squeaked as unoccupied auxiliary personnel swiveled to get a better angle. A marine lowered a hand to her stunner's grip.

"You've never worked directly with combat augments, have you, Tac One?" the commander asked. Her voice never left its monotone. Her eyes never left their fixation point somewhere on the wall. "'Doll logic' given my rank and resources would have been saturation-bombing the subcontinent with the Fulcrum's long-range torpedoes. Neutron warheads are cheap. Minimal expenditure, zero casualties."

"The civilians… hell, the ecosystem…"

"Aren't ours and don't count. All ten of Topaz, which are ours, would still be safely in cryostorage ten decks down. That's doll logic. Unfortunately for Topaz Nine and Ten, I woke up one day to find out I'd been deconditioned, decommissioned, and promoted. And now I'm here, and I've been told that I can't go back until this whole insurrection is handled as cleanly and quietly as it can be…"

On the schematic display, one, then both white diamonds winked out, drowned in red.

The commander closed her eyes.

"Tac One, go get a coffee or something. If I hear the words 'doll logic' out of you again, I'll make sure you survive to learn it the way I learned it, and you'll have the benefit of knowing exactly what you're talking about." □

[soulreapin]

fair warning, this gets kinda heavy.

tldr: keith bends and bends underneath the weight of everything, and finally, he cracks.

this was really cathartic for me to write, so even if you read it here give it a kudos on ao3 just for me.

—

Keith’s mouth tastes like rubbed-away Carmex and ash.

He’s doing okay for himself, on the castle of lions, he goes and he dons his suit and he does his job and he fights with Lance and then he comes “home” and peels his suit off piece by piece and stands underneath the shower with bad water pressure until his skin turns pink and his joints stop clicking together as he walks and then he goes to bed, just to do it all again. Keith says he is doing okay for himself to the people he saves every single day, to the people he lives with every single day, but he doesn’t say it to himself.

To himself, he’s drowning. The words to what he’s feeling warp in his throat and feel caught in a web, choking him out until he can’t breathe. He is floating on the surface of something horrid, and his palm slaps on the surface of the water but there’s nothing for his desperate fingers to cling on to, so Keith slips.

With every day he slips, back and back and back until the stitches holding him together strained against the weight. Then Keith hauls himself forwards, and forwards a little more until there is just enough lessened on the stitches for him to keep going, just a little longer.

It doesn’t feel like anything anymore. The butt of a blaster slammed into his chin three days ago, and his jaw popped out of its place for just a moment on his left side and sometimes he can’t touch those back teeth together, but that doesn’t feel like anything. He took nine space tylenol and called it a day.

Most nights after he gets three horrible hours of sleep, Keith sits on the bow of the ship. He doesn’t know why the bow is so comfortable, but he did know that if he closed his eyes and drifted out far enough, sometimes the rock of the ship felt like the simulator deck at the Galaxy Garrison. He spent hours out there, even when classes had ended. Shiro slipped him into the sim and made him promise not to cause too many problems.

He’s there right now, staring at the empty, pin-pricked abyss that the castle lingered in. The galaxy they’re floating through is close to Olkari, but not close enough to patch through a call.

Keith, at four in the morning, is completely alone out here. No one on his team likes him, his lion is working against him, his bayard wouldn’t get fucking going this morning and cost them precious seconds that could’ve been used to save lives, and his belt loop got stuck on the door.

Nothing else bothered him, he shook off the dislike and let his lion roll of his back like water, Keith made up for his bayard by racing the clock and getting a group of younglings out of a tight spot, but his belt loop yanking on the door handle and keeping him trapped in the doorway of his room was the final straw. He took dinner in his room, because if Lance even looked at him with his stupidly cute face and surprisingly thoughtful words, Keith would start to sob like a child and he cannot have that.

So he sits on the bow.

The bow is quiet, there’s nothing on the bow but him and the built in chairs and the endless, expansive stars.

Keith sighs, a whistle through his throat, and starts to absentmindedly comb his tired fingers through his hair. It sat in a ponytail lately, so he could better wedge his helmet over it, and there was a noticeable dent in his hair from how little time he had to wash it and how often he wore it like that.

Silence envelops him for just a few more minutes before he hears the soft woosh of the automated door open and close. Almost immediately, fight or flight gripping him tight and refusing to let go of him. Keith turns his head and grips his knife, the flat of the blade pressed to his forearm, and watches as Lance edges into the bridge, holding onto a pillow.

Oh.

Fight puts its knife down and flight folds in its wings. Keith lowers his blade and lets it clatter loudly onto the floor, lest Lance assume he’s alone on the bow. Lance looks around wildly for just a second until he sees Keith sitting in front of Red’s chair and relaxes, nodding almost to himself and trudging to the very front of the bow, right in front of the glass.

He watches Lance as he drops his pillow on the floor and tucks his forearms beneath it, turning his chin towards the stars and saying nothing.

But Keith can’t sit in silence like this. He feels like he’s been ripped into a storm and thrown around and around until his head is barely hanging on, so Keith delicately clears his throat and says, “You’re up late.”

“Et tu, Brute?” Lance responds groggily,

Keith laughs slightly, a short bark that comes out a little drier than he intended. “Couldn’t….couldn’t sleep.”

Lance shifts a little so his head is turned to Keith instead of the stars. “Yeah, me too. I didn’t think you came out here. Training deck finally handed you an eviction notice?”

“I like it here.” Keith says defensively; what could he possibly be defending?

“Relax, Red, not here to give you the third degree.” Lance’s eyes slide from open to closed a few times, like he’s fighting sleep.

He doesn’t respond to that, but pulls his knees into his chest and loosely wraps his arms around them, bony kneecaps digging into his collarbone. Keith watches Lance acutely like a predator as this boy, this friend who he flew alongside every day and ate next to and slept in the same hallway as buried his face into the pillow he’d brought with him and his breathing starts to even out.

It comes on like a cold.

Keith sniffs once and coughs and just like that, warm tears bead up in his lower lashline and trickle down his face, bouncing from small freckle to smaller scar and then dripping onto his hand. Slowly, Lance’s head inches upwards, peering at Keith in the low, blue light. His words rattle out of him, “Do you want to talk about it?”

No. Yes. He’d rather kill himself. He’s going to kill himself if he doesn’t. Keith forces all of this down and clears his throat, wiping the tears away from his eyes and coughs again, “I think so. I shouldn’t.”

“You can. If you want. I’ll listen, Keith.” Lance’s voice is low and careful, treating Keith like a scared lioness kept in captivity, and he didn’t mind it.

Keith. It’s always Red, or Mullet, or Rascal Flatts. Never Keith.

He swallows, and trudging every goddamn step of the godforsaken way, Keith tries to articulate what holds him down, night and day.

“I just. I don’t know. I feel like I’m struggling.” He speaks up to the ceiling. “It feels like its climbing up my throat, almost, and I am struggling to keep going with it. I do, I get up every day and do what I have to do as the red paladin, but as Keith Kogane, I am trying so fucking hard, and I cannot keep going like this. I’m going to break and I am fucking scared of it.”

Lance makes a soft, neutral noise.

“And nobody, nobody likes me, I know it, not even you and you’re like, the light of freedom and friendship in this dark fucking hellhole, and I keep failing everything and I want to give up. But if I give up,” Keith pauses very briefly to clear his throat again, because he’s going to sob if he doesn’t, “If I give up, then I’m going to doom the entire universe.”

“That’s..a lot for just one kid.” Lance sounds…worried. “How do you…do it?”

Keith knots his fingers in his hair. A nervous habit. “I just. Do. I guess. Shove it so far down I can’t even think about it and then just keep going, because if I stop, then I’m going to drown.”

“That must have been a lot for you.” Lance says reassuringly, getting up slowly and making his way towards Keith, slumping down against the chair and looking out at the stars right in front of him. “I’m sorry that we put that pressure on you.”

“We–” Keith’s head snaps over to Lance, tracing over the curve of his nose. “Shit. God, this has all happened to you and I’m the only one that’s responding like this because I can’t fucking take it. It’s not fair to you that I’m such a goddamn wreck about it when everyone else has just…figured it out. “

The laugh that spills out of Lance sounds wet. “You think we’ve…figured it out? Keith, we’re all fucking struggling through this together. We’re all hurting.”

Keith presses his lips together and swallows the hurting sob that bangs against his teeth to be let out.

“We thought you’d talk to someone. Shiro, maybe. Keith, you can’t hurt on your own forever. It’ll eat you alive and then chew on the bones until those are gone, too.” Lance’s hand rests on Keith’s elbow, and Keith doesn’t yank it away. He finds a little bit of comfort in the warmth of those fiddler’s fingers.

“You don't know that.” Keith bites out, his fingers digging into his knee.

Lance, to his credit, sighs thoughtfully. “I do. I absolutely do because I lived it. The Garrison was…misery reincarnated. No one liked me. I was almost entirely alone, even with Hunk and Pidge. But I kept moving, every single day until I snapped and started crying in Shiro’s office because he was nice.”

“I remember that day. Shiro came home all emotional because one of his students had trusted him with something so important. Figures it was you.” Keith laughs gently as he recalls the smile on Shiro’s face as he moved around the house making dinner that night.

“Yeah, that was me. I started talking to Veronica after that whenever I could. She got her doctorate in psychiatry and became a therapist, did you know that? I’m so fucking proud of her.” Lance’s voice shifts and it sounds blurry when he brings up his pride in his older sister.

It pulls at some loose string in his soul. Keith’s free hand reaches over and rests gently over the one sitting on his elbow. “She knows. I promise you, she knows that you are proud of her. Even all the way out here.”

“I’m glad you think so, Keith.” Lance looks over at him with a wet shine in his eyes and a weak, fond smile pulling at his lips.

They’re hurt together.

Keith cannot be fixed with just one conversation and a hand on his elbow.

Lance’s longing for his family cannot be mended with a glance at the stars and a hand on top of his.

But while they hurt together, they can start to heal intertwined.

—

ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/53325874